Wei Chen's mansion is located in Chang'an Yanshoufang, in addition, like Wei Chen, Wei Ping, Wei Rang, a group of important ministers of the Wei family also have their own mansions in Chang'an, but after Pei Jun came to power, the Wei family was the target of his attack, for example, Wei Zhen was demoted from the original Shangshu Youcheng to the head of the Xinwang Mansion, and most of the other important ministers of the Wei family were also relegated to remote places such as Lingnan and Jiangnan West Road as officials such as Assassin Shi or Sima, the Wei family has no strength in hand, and only the share of honest repair, in addition to silence, Wei Ge can only choose silence.

However, during this time, the Wei family was full of joy, and the people were also comfortable, and the old man laughed a lot, and he often walked around the room with a letter and laughing, and Wei Ge, who had a gloomy face all day long, was completely like two people.

At this moment, Wess sat in the study and wrote with a smile, he held a pen in one hand and gently brushed his short beard in the other hand and looked at the words in front of him with satisfaction, he wrote the four words of Webster's backbone.

Needless to say, this is the banner he was going to give to Wei Deqing, in the rainy night ten days ago, a messenger from Chen Liu, brought him the news that made him seem to be reborn, Li Huaixian's righteous son, Li Deqing, who had just been named the envoy of the Bian Song Festival by the Queen Mother, turned out to be the son of their Wei family, Cao Wei Deqing, a soldier of Kaiyang County.

This news made Wei Ge immediately go to the ancestral hall with tears in his eyes to kowtow to his ancestors, thanking them for regaining the Wei family's daylight, and then he ordered someone to find Wei Deqing's mother, a rough servant who specially washed the toilet for the Wei family's sons and ladies.

"Father, are you looking for me?" The eldest son, Wei Qing, appeared at the door at some point, and he asked respectfully.

"Just in time, come! How about looking at the father's words? Wecker called his son in, pointed to the banner and said with a smile: "My father has written five of them this afternoon, and this is the most satisfactory one, but I still feel a little inappropriate, but I can't tell where it is?" ”

On the surface, Wei Qing had a short beard on his chin, and the rest did not change. His skin was still surprisingly white, with a pair of melancholy eyes under his long eyelashes, and his body still looked so weak, but he was now a fifth-rank in the Ministry of Rites, which was already an extremely high rank for an official from the shadow of the door.

Wei Qing approached, he looked at the banner on the table, Webster's backbone, of course he knew who it was for. A hint of jealousy flashed in his eyes, but then he covered it up, and he tried his best to restrain the dissatisfaction that might leak in his tone, and smiled at his father: "Father's words are excellent, strong and powerful, and penetrating to the bones. The child feels impeccable, if you have to find a place that makes the father feel dissatisfied, I think maybe the word backbone is too straightforward, if it is a little more subtle, change it to the word child, it may be much better. ”

Webster's son, Weber read it twice. He still shook his head and said, "This doesn't show my evaluation of him, it's not appropriate!" It doesn't matter, that's all. ”

Wei Ge picked up the banner, blew it dry, and ordered someone to take it to be framed, he cleaned up the pen, ink, paper, and inkstone on the table slightly, and then let Wei Qing sit down.

"I want you to go to Chenliu for your father, personally send the banner, and at the same time appease Wei Deqing and tell him. I'm going to rank his name second in the list of ancestral hall disciples. Second only to me. ”

The original second was Wei Qing, the heir to the head of the family, and now he was actually squeezed down, Rao is Wei Qing had a little bit of the city, he finally couldn't help but change his face slightly, took a deep breath and said: "Why didn't my father let him go to Beijing to report on his work, he could let him kowtow to the ancestors, wouldn't it be more appeasing him?" ”

Wei Ge waved his hand and said, "I have also thought about this matter. But Deqing had just taken power. You can't leave Chenliu at will, you have to stay to consolidate your territory. This is one; Second, Li Huaixian's two sons are still there, and if you want to kill them, you have to take your time, if you don't get rid of them, Deqing will not enter Beijing, this is two; The third is that Cui Qinggong was forced to withdraw his troops because of the attack on his nest, how could he spare it, once Deqing entered Beijing, it was difficult to ensure that he would not take the opportunity to attack, so as above, he could not easily leave Chenliu, so you can only go and work hard. ”

"But the child is busy with official business, and I'm afraid I won't be able to find time to see him for a while." Wei Qing's tone was still lukewarm, as if he was talking about something that had nothing to do with him.

Wei was stunned, he suddenly came back to his senses, his son had been calling Wei Deqing him all along, why didn't he understand?

He began to realize that he was a little carried away in the matter of Wei Deqing, and only thought about the strength of the Wei family's territory, but forgot that Wei Deqing was originally a concubine with an extremely low status, and now he is respected so much, of course other Wei family children will be dissatisfied, and his son is probably not ordinary jealousy in his heart.

Thinking of this, Wei Ge gently patted the back of Wei Qing's hand, sighed and said: "Qing'er, you should understand what Wei Deqing's territory and army mean to our Wei family, the seven great families of the Tang Dynasty have gone to the fourth, Chu Xingshui is only protected in a corner, and the Cui family is also decaying, only one Pei Jun family is left, Hebei, Hedong, and Guanzhong have hundreds of thousands of armored soldiers, and they have the power of households and officials, which can be said to occupy the time; And Zhang Huan is a rising star, although his power in the DPRK is not strong, but the local momentum is strong, Longyou, Hexi, Shuofang, Shuzhong now have Jingxiang, the number of troops in other places has exceeded the Pei family, I can say that he occupies the geographical advantage; And Cui Xiaofu has been supported by many royalists in the name of orthodoxy, and even the ill-intentioned Cui Qinggong and Li Xilie have expressed their loyalty to her, and even our Wei family is willing to be loyal to her, it is really that she is orthodox in the Tang Dynasty, and she is the one who occupies the people, these three are the three major forces in the Tang Dynasty, so what about our Wei family? Ranked third among the seven great families back then, how much influence does the DPRK still have now? It's been almost a month since I was a father, but it didn't affect me at all, son! Don't you understand after all these years? Without its own strength, our Wei family will really decline completely. ”

Wei Qing didn't say anything for a long time, he suddenly thought of his sister, in order to get a little bit of the power of the Wang family, his father even did not hesitate to marry her to Wang Mao, who was nearly fifty years old, as a continuation, he knew that his father's desire for the army and territory had reached an almost crazy state, what did Wei Deqing's appearance mean to his father? Wei Qing slowly bowed down and kowtowed to his father, "The child is not filial, he can't share his father's worries, the child will go to Chenliu tomorrow, and he must appease Brother Deqing for his father." ”

Wei Ge nodded, his son's filial piety made his heart sour, and he saw that there was no one left and right. Then he said in a low voice: "Don't worry, one day, I will let Wei Deqing obediently hand over the territory and army to you and my father and son, and now the top priority is to win him over and make him loyal to the Wei family, that is, loyal to you and me." ”

Wei Qing suddenly realized, it is still his father who can see far away!

At the beginning of March, it is the spring season, and under the misty and rainy sky, a few orioles are dressed in bright feathers and comb their nests. The willow branches and the grass are happily growing tender green shoots, the air is slightly cold, but the heart is warm, in such a season, walking is the traditional outdoor activity of Chang'an people. In particular, the annoyance of the people of Chang'an was the elimination of the great warlord Zhu, which brought people a sense of security.

Xiaolou listened to the spring rain overnight, and sold apricot blossoms in the deep alleys of the Ming Dynasty.

March 3 is the Shangsi Festival, Chang'an is overcrowded with excellent scenery everywhere, especially Qujiang Pond, a pool of green water washes away the rouge, and the flowers on the mountains on both sides are splendid, and the fallen flowers are colorful. Bright red peach blossoms, elegant pear blossoms, shy apricot blossoms are full of tourists, there are ambitious poets to find inspiration, there are noble ladies who are guarded by the family to enjoy the spring in the carriage to recall the past, the official eunuchs have other courtyards and private land, do not compete with the common people for spring, more are ordinary Chang'an people, they come in groups of three or five, with their wives and children, but the most eye-catching is the countless young and lively Chang'an girls, they walk through the flowers, frolic, I don't know if they are beautiful because of the flowers, or the flowers are beautiful because of them. The eyebrows are daylily colored. The red dress is jealous of the pomegranate flower.

On the official road about a mile south of Qujiang Chinan, a team of military horses came from afar, about 300 people, and one person in the middle was Zhang Huan, who returned from Xiangyang.

Before going to Longyou, he must first go back to Chang'an to report to the imperial court, and at the same time. He also plans to meet with Cui Yuan. Listen to his advice.

Although he worked hard all the way, the excitement of arriving in Chang'an and the vitality of spring made him energetic. Unable to see the slightest tiredness, he pointed to a garden with excellent scenery in the distance with a horsewhip, and smiled at the soldiers: "Do you see it, that is the Furong Garden, when Emperor Xuanzong brought Yang Guifei to visit the garden, the concubine washed her feet in the Qujiang Pond, and as a result, all the fat powder shops in Chang'an were closed, do you know what the reason is?" ”

Seeing that the governor was in a good mood, all the relatives and soldiers laughed together, and said: "I heard that Yang Guifei has a shy appearance, but when ordinary women see it, they are ashamed of themselves and dare not buy fat powder?" ”

Zhang Huan smiled mysteriously and said, "Definitely! Definitely! It is the water of Qujiang Pond that becomes too fragrant after the concubine's feet are washed, and the women of Chang'an come to the pool to bathe and wash their faces, so naturally they don't have to buy fragrant powder and rouge. ”

All the relatives and soldiers laughed, Yang Guifei's footwashing water was really interesting.

The soldiers walked through a hillside, where the peach blossoms are splendid, so gorgeous that people can't open their eyes, suddenly a burst of warbler laughter came, only to see a dozen girls in gorgeous long skirts out of the peach blossom forest, each hand is full of flower branches, peach blossoms and faces are delicate and shining, see the soldiers are all stunned one by one, more than a dozen girls suddenly saw a large group of fierce soldiers staring at them on the road, all frightened exclaimed, and fled into the peach blossom forest.

"Dudu, they must be peach blossom demon girls, or I will go to destroy the demon and eliminate the harm for the people!" Several of the pro-soldiers smiled ambiguously.

Zhang Huan tapped them lightly with a horsewhip and scolded with a smile: "Kill your head, you are the monster!" ”

He saw that the brothers all wanted women to be tight, so he smiled and said: "After returning to Chang'an, each person will be rewarded with five yuan and everyone will have a day off." ”

The soldiers cheered together, causing passers-by to turn back, wondering what kind of spring the group was pregnant.

At this time, I saw a large group of people coming in the distance, there were nearly a thousand people, and the pedestrians on the official road avoided on both sides.

Sure enough, when the people clearing the road in front of him approached, they were all palace guards, and he immediately waved his hand and ordered: "Everyone pull aside, don't make noise." As soon as the order was given, all the soldiers dismounted one after another, and all avoided the side of the road, the official road was very wide, and a group of guards walked past them, looking at them vigilantly, and several gorgeous and wide carriages were gradually approaching in the distance.

"Zhang Shangshu!" Not far away, someone suddenly shouted, Zhang Huan looked for prestige, only to see a horse running out of the team, and immediately a person was looking at him with excitement on his face, about the same age as himself. is also dark-skinned, Zhang Huan suddenly recognized that it was Han Yu.

Han Yu turned over and dismounted, ran to Zhang Huan's side quickly, bowed to him, and said excitedly: "Zhang Shangshu, we haven't seen each other for many years. ”

Zhang Huan hurriedly smiled and replied: "I heard that Brother Han has been promoted to Dr. Guozijian, congratulations!" ”

"I have now temporarily left the Guozijian to accompany the emperor to study." Han Yu smiled. He remembered something again, and hurriedly asked: "Chang'an has spread all over the city, saying that the governor has killed Zhu, but is it true?" ”

Zhang Huan smiled slightly and said, "Zhu is dead, but I didn't kill him." It was killed by his subordinates, which is called self-destruction if he commits many acts of injustice. ”

"Anyway, if it weren't for the governor to send troops to Shannan, I can't imagine what it would be like now? Zhu and Cui Qinggong are not good things. Han Yu said angrily.

"Han Shiyu, who is he?" Behind Han Yudi, a childish voice suddenly sounded.

Zhang Huan looked sideways and saw a gorgeous carriage in the team parked on the road, and dozens of guards next to him were staring at him vigilantly. The curtain of the carriage had been opened, and a child of about seven or eight years of age came out and looked at him curiously, wearing a purple and gold crown of seven treasures, with a thin face and an unhealthy pale on his cheeks.

Zhang Huan suddenly knew who this child was.

He hurriedly stepped forward and gave a deep salute, "Minister Zhang Huan sees Your Majesty!" ”

This child is Li Miao, the son of the Tang Dynasty, he is only eight years old this year, which is the age when ordinary children like to play the most, but he lives deep in the palace. It's rare to be able to come out and play. Today is the Shangsi Festival, Cui Xiaofu specially allowed him to come out for a day, but he happened to meet Zhang Huan.

Li Miao had heard of Zhang Huan's name for a long time, but he had never seen him in person, and when he learned that the person in front of him was the most powerful local warlord today, Li Miao couldn't help but be startled, and blurted out: "You are Zhang Huan of Longyou?" ”

"The minister is exactly!"

Then. An old man next to him coughed sternly. He is Li Miaodi's master Li Deyu, and he is also a member of the clan. For the famous Confucian.

Li Miao immediately said solemnly: "Zhang Aiqing relieved the country's worries, I am deeply grateful, and I have worked hard all the way." ”

Zhang Huan saw that he lost his innocence in an instant, like a little old man, he shook his head secretly, but said, "The minister doesn't dare, everything the minister does is the duty of the minister." ”

Li Deyu obviously didn't want Li Miao and Zhang Huan to say anything, he took a step forward and arched his hand to Zhang Huan and said: "Zhang Shangshu, Your Majesty's travel, it should be safety first, I met Cui Xiang just now and didn't say hello, you see Zhang Huan nodded hurriedly," the master said very well. ”

He took a step back and smiled at Li Miao, "I hope Your Majesty has fun." ”

Li Miao didn't have a smile on his face, he nodded solemnly, brushed the curtain shut, and the carriage started again, and soon disappeared into the banner and hood of the brigade guards.

Zhang Huan kept looking at the little emperor from afar, he laughed coldly, and waved his hand: "Get on the horse and go back to Beijing!" ”

Zhang Huan's return, so that the whole family is ecstatic, Pei Ying hugged her daughter, led her son to the gate to welcome her husband's return, from the first day of the first month of the first month to leave home, for three months, Zhang Huan missed his family very much, he squatted down and hugged his son and daughter, and kissed their faces fiercely left and right.

"Daddy buys Qiuqiu delicious land?" I haven't seen her for a few months, but my daughter has spoken a lot more neatly, and she smiles sweetly and cutely, like a little gluttonous cat.

"Don't talk nonsense, Daddy is going to war, what delicious food will he buy you?" Zhang Qi's face was flat, and he reprimanded his sister like a little adult.

"My brother bullied me!" Zhang Qiu's mouth pursed, and he was about to cry.

Zhang Huan hurriedly picked her up and comforted: "Qiuqiu, Daddy bought you something delicious, bought Nanyang's sugar cake, and it was in Daddy's bag." ”

He stretched out his hand and took out the horse bag for a long time, first took out a very delicately carved boat, handed it to his son, and said, "This is also what Daddy bought for you in Nanyang, go play!" ”

Zhang Qi took the boat, looked left and right excitedly, cheered, and ran to the backyard.

"Autumn Autumn Sugar Cake!" The little lady was so anxious that she put her fingers in her mouth, and her saliva couldn't stop flowing out.

Zhang Huan laughed, he poked his daughter's little face with his beard, "Daddy's little gluttonous cat, how can you forget you?" ”

As if he was doing a trick, a small round peach box appeared in his hand, and he saw his daughter reach out to take it, but he raised the box high, put his face in front of her and smiled: "Kiss daddy, otherwise you won't give it!" ”

Syllable! His daughter's little hand hugged his neck and kissed him, and kissed Zhang Huan's face with a ruddy mouth, and the soft, sweet feeling itched straight to her heart.

At this time, Pei Ying walked up and said with a smile: "Look at you!" Spoiled the kids. ”

Although she was complaining, she smiled between her eyebrows and eyes, and she was happy in her heart, she hugged her daughter from Zhang Huan's hand, and handed her the sugar cake box, she glanced at Zhang Huan, and said with a smile: "The eldest and second have bought gifts, what about the third?" ”

"The third?" Zhang Huan was stunned, as soon as he looked up, he suddenly saw Cui Ning standing on the steps, her waist was much thicker, and she was shyly lowering her head, "Oh my God! Probably yes

"What do you think?" Pei Ying smiled and pulled her husband into the door, several women surrounded him and walked towards the lobby, happy laughter echoed over the mansion, and the feeling of home was always so intoxicating.