Before the bright light, the gray mist shrouded Chang'an City, Chang'an Mingde Gate, the merchants, porters, and hawkers who had been waiting for a long time swarmed up, quarrels, shouts and shouts, and then entered the city to be unusually quiet, the people who wanted to enter the city were waiting aside, waiting for a long team to enter the city, a team of cavalry looked indifferent, black bright light armor exuded murderous aura in the sun, among them, nearly a hundred carriages carried heavy cages, creaking forward, this is a team from Youzhou, An Lushan, who had returned to the garrison two months ago, had entered Beijing again, and this time he came for the youngest daughter of King Ci'an, the lord of Rongyi, and his marriage with the Li Tang clan would be more conducive to the consolidation of his position.

An Lushan's carriage was behind the team, and gradually entered Chang'an City, An Lushan of the carriage had a gloomy face, and his eyes were complicated to stare at the flow of people outside the car window, he entered Beijing this time nominally for the time to propose, but in fact it was for the serious financial crisis under the rule, An Lushan also served as the governor of Youzhou, in charge of the military and political affairs of the seventeen states under the jurisdiction of Youzhou, and Youzhou is the main source of salt in the north, and the sale of smuggled salt and salt tax has always been the main source of income for An Lushan, but after the implementation of the new salt law of the imperial court, the Youzhou Salt and Iron Division was established and monopolized the salt source, It also cut off An Lushan's source of income, so that the supply of his private placement army became a problem.

What shocked him even more was that the news came from his ears and eyes in Chang'an that the imperial court might set up a national cabinet workshop, and in the future, the rents of each county would be handed over to the cabinet workshop. It is no longer handed over to the prefecture and county, and the required expenses are also uniformly allocated by the household department, which is equivalent to completely depriving the local land and financial rights.

The only way to do this is to go to Beijing for activities, and ask Li Longji to open up to Fan Yang, if it really doesn't work. He could only find another way to get the court to pay for it.

At this time, An Lushan's henchmen solemnly urged him to step forward, and when he saw that there were no outsiders on the four sides, he whispered to An Lushan: "General, my subordinates have important things to report. ”

In a moment, the carriage stopped. The car door opened, and An Lushan's voice came from inside, "Come up!" ”

The carriage was luxuriously furnished and unusually spacious, like a room, with thick Persian carpets on the floor, and the walls covered with gorgeous Shu brocade, and several concubines had been driven out of the carriage by An Lushan, and he closed the windows, and the light in the carriage became dim.

"What's important?"

An Lushan was half lying on the soft couch, half squinting. The fat body is like a groundhog ready to spend the winter.

"General, look at this treasure of Chang'an, how prosperous. And my Fanyang is rich in products, and Yingzhou has more benefits from the ocean. I was thinking all the way that if the imperial court didn't give us money or reduced our income, then we would be completely embarrassed, so according to the opinion of our subordinates, we should still focus on stabilizing the position of the general when we came to Chang'an this time to prevent the general from being transferred out of Fanyang. In addition, if there is a degree to make a position. to solve the problem of insufficient troop resources. ”

An Lushan nodded, and said with a faint smile: "Mr. Yan and I think the same, I have been in Fanyang for too long, Li Longji has been transferred unnoticed, and even Huangfu Weiming has lost his head, I heard that Li Longji is also preparing to set up a eunuch supervision system, which shows that he began to have suspicions about the general of the border town, marriage, is to take the initiative to keep him as a hostage in Beijing, in order to eliminate Li Longji's suspicions, in addition, last year's defeat of the Khitan was left by me to leave the remainder, this is also my means of containment, so he has worries, so this time I came to Chang'an, I not only want to protect the position, but also strive for the autonomy of the salt tax and the envoy of the Hedong Festival you mentioned, otherwise how can these years of gifts be given in vain? ”

He thought about it again. Yan Zhuang said: "Strengthening trade is also a feasible policy, and the right is responsible, but it cannot come openly, and it must be carried out under cover."

Yan Zhuang stroked his goatee and smiled with satisfaction: "The general has seen it so thoroughly, his subordinates will rest assured, I will do it today!" ”

An Lushan's mansion in Chang'an is located in Qinrenfang, not far from Dongshi, and the chariot traveled a few miles along Zhuque Street, and then turned through Jingshanfang to the northeast.

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The sky is gradually brighter, the pedestrians on the streets of Chang'an began to increase, most of them are in a hurry, their own busy livelihood, the smoke of spring is lazy, but the rice tank at the bottom of the house is more worrying, since ancient times, the capital city is mostly supported by all parts of the country, the rent from all over the country is consumed in Chang'an, the wealth collected by the ministers and magnates from all over the country is squandered in Chang'an, and it has also created the prosperity of Chang'an, as long as it is not too lazy, it is not too difficult to find a job to support the family.

Early in the morning, Li Qing was woken up by the faint cry of his daughter, all kinds of family affairs in the past few days made him feel irritable, first of all, Xiaoyu's father died suddenly while gambling with people in Chengdu, it is estimated that he was overexcited to win money and suddenly suffered a cerebral hemorrhage, etc., Xiaoyu took a few servants back to his hometown to mourn; Then his daughter was sick at night by the cold, and she couldn't stop crying day and night, so in order to take care of her daughter, she took him to the outer study to live.

Another thing that upset him was the sudden arrival of the holy decree, under the pretext of the marriage of the second Li Xiang, ordering Li Jingyan to become a monk in Ganye Temple, removing the title of the county lord, and cutting off the royal honor, she would become an ordinary monk, although Li Qing knew that this was Li Longji's move to marry her to himself and at the same time to deal with Tibet. The three words of Ganye Temple made him feel a sense of ominousness, this is the place where Wu Zetian became a monk a hundred years ago, and it is also the final destination of many abolished palace concubines in the palace, he does not want Li Jingyan to go there to become a monk, but he is powerless to change the edict that has been issued.

'Someone! Li Qing shouted a few times, but no one answered, he angrily picked up the pillow and smashed it towards the door, startling the two little maids who were dozing outside, and hurriedly ran in, lowered his head and said timidly: "Does the master have something to order?" "Sister, my parents died early, I was sold to a human trafficker by my uncle, I was about fourteen or five years old, and I have been serving the curtain.

"Nothing, I'm going out

Li Qing took a long breath, trying to calm his irritable heart, and he couldn't restrain his emotions for the past two days, and he seemed to have a good feeling.

A little maid hurriedly turned around and ran to fetch water, and the other came up to serve him to change clothes and comb his hair, this maid is very good at observing faces, getting older, and also understands some humane things, why is the master troubled, she knows very well, so while combing his hair, she obediently flattered: "Madame sent a message from the inner house in the morning, Miss's illness has improved, and the master can move in tonight." ”

At this time, she was the only one serving Li Qing, and when she saw that the opportunity had come, a bold idea suddenly arose in her heart.

"You go and tell Madame later, I'll be back later tonight."

Li Qing's face is a little gloomy, since he came back from Yangzhou, he slightly felt that the curtain has changed, most of his mind is on the child, and he is often inexplicably angry with himself, often looking into the distance and being stunned, this change is also reflected in the intercourse between husband and wife, she seems to be avoiding herself, like this time let herself move to the outer study, although it is because the child is sick, but Li Qing feels that this seems to be just an excuse, in fact, there is no need for this at all, it seems that she is hiding something from herself, he can't help shouting, 'Curtain, What can't you say to me? ’

At this time, Li Qing suddenly felt that the hand of the maid behind him seemed to be caressing his neck intentionally or unintentionally, and then, a pair of round and elastic ** were tightly attached to his back, and a fire instinctively rose in Li Qing's chest and abdomen. As soon as he turned around, he saw a pair of shining eyes staring at him tightly, with a flattering smile under the point, she bit her lip and smiled: "Master, what are you looking at?" ”

Li Qingxin suddenly jumped wildly, he couldn't help but put his arm around her waist, reached out and touched her chest, and asked in a low voice, "How old are you this year." ”

"Back to the master. The little maid is fourteen years old this year. When she saw that Li Qing had taken the bait, her eyes and tone couldn't help but reveal a hint of pride.

But it was this smugness that made Li Qing suddenly clear, and he remembered that Curtain Er also told himself back then, she was fourteen years old this year.

Li Qing pushed the maid away, stood up suddenly, looked at her and snorted coldly. "I don't think you're going to seize the moment!"

The little maid was so frightened that she knelt on the ground and kowtowed again and again, "Please spare me!" Please spare me! ”

Li Qingxin sighed slightly, "Don't you even have this control?" ’

He only felt bored, waved his hand at her and said, "Forget it, you get up!" It's not entirely your fault for this, it's my own fault. ”

At this time, another maid came in with water, and when she saw her sister kneeling on the ground begging for mercy, she did not know what had happened, and she was afraid. He also ran to his sister and knelt down.

The two stood up, and Li Qing saw that the maid's eyes just now were both frightened and a little gloomy. comforted the twin sisters softly: "You are still young, and there are some things you don't understand. I won't blame you for what you have done, but when you are a few years older, if you want to be free, tell me again, and I will give you a sum of money and let you out of the house, and now, you go and serve Madame! ”

After speaking. He washed his face hastily and strode out of the room. Got on the horse and went out.

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Today, the place Li Qing is going to is the Si Ning Palace, first, he wants to go to see the wild goose, and the other is to talk to Li Lin about his official position.

Li Qing was not in front of Li Lin's house, the porter saw it from afar, ran to report the news, when he just stepped up the steps, I saw Li Lin greet him with a smile, although he was dismissed, but he can get Li Qing as a son-in-law, he is really happy.

Li Qing stood on the steps, bowed and bowed, and said apologetically: "I just came to visit Uncle Shi today, and my nephew is really ashamed!" ”

"Haha! If it hadn't been for the wild goose coming home, I'm sure you wouldn't have come today. ”

Li Lin teased Li Qing while taking his hand and walking towards the house, he saw Li Qing's eyes looking around, knowing his thoughts, so he patted him on the back and smiled: "It's unfortunate that you are young, the wild goose was found by the lord of Rongyi, and the two of them are very good in the boudoir, I guess they have something to say!" ”

"It's okay, I have something to do with Uncle Shi."

The two of them entered the small guest hall and sat down, Li Qing saw Li Lin smiling calmly, not worried about the matter of the wild goose becoming a monk, and couldn't help but be surprised: "Isn't Uncle Shi worried about the matter of the wild goose becoming a monk?" ”

Li Lin shook his head, "Zongzheng Temple has been approved, Jingyan first became a monk in Ganye Temple for three months, and then went to Shu Qingcheng Mountain, of course, Shu is just an excuse, the actual go, it should be your mansion!" ”

Speaking of Zongzheng Temple, Li Lin's eyes flashed a look of loss, he was dismissed after less than two years as the secretary of Zongzheng Temple, which really made him a little angry.

Li Lin's loss was only a momentary matter, he smiled reluctantly, and asked Li Qingdao again: "You just said that you have something to do with me, I don't know what it is?" ”

"Uncle Shi is innocent of losing his official position for me, my nephew is very uneasy, in order to compensate Uncle Shi, my nephew decided to recommend Uncle Shi as my first salt and iron supervisor of the Tang Dynasty."

"What!" Li Lin stood up, he couldn't believe his ears, stared at Li Qing word by word: "You mean the salt and iron prison order!" ”

After the implementation of the new salt law, the provinces have successively set up the salt and iron division, so that the establishment of the salt and iron supervisor is almost inevitable, it is said that the draft has been handed over, the draft, the salt and iron supervisor is in charge of the national land and commercial tax, and has become the core department of the imperial court, then the first salt and iron supervisor is not just anyone can serve, when almost everyone thought that it would be Li Qing concurrently, Li Lin never thought that it would be himself.

"Yes, it is the salt and iron prison order, yesterday afternoon, Li Linfu specially came to visit Zhang Qiu and Qiong, the two have reached a compromise for the candidates for the salt and iron prison order, the prison order is served by Uncle Shi, and the young eunuch is served by Li Linfu's henchman Yu Shi Song Hun, I will write this note."

Speaking of this, Li Qing took a sip of tea from the tea bowl and said with a faint smile: "The day after tomorrow is a rare dynasty, and the salt and iron prison and the national cabinet workshop were officially born in this dynasty." ”