Zhang Huan looked up to the sky and said with a smile: "I have heard for a long time, I have been wanting to see it for a long time, but I have been busy with official business recently, and it is difficult to leave Longyou for a while. ”

The envoy also smiled, "Although Tang and Tu are good friends, but the real deal with me in Tubo is Zhang Dudu, passing by Jincheng County, I want to visit, but the governor said that the governor has entered Beijing to report on his work, so I hurried and hurried, I wanted to drink and make friends with the governor in Chang'an, but I didn't expect to see us in Fengxiang." ”

When the two were greeting, a team of military horses rushed to the city, all of them were dressed in Tang army attire, but the one who raised the whip was a civil official, less than fifty years old, with a white face and long beard, and a faint bit of Pei Jun's demeanor between his hands.

Behind him, Feng Xiang Jie Du made Li Mo also follow closely, Pei Yi saw Zhang Huan from afar, Pei Ying is the treasure of their Pei family, everyone in the Pei family likes it, and naturally loves Zhang Huan, the niece and son-in-law.

"Nephew, do you remember me?"

Zhang Huan smiled apologetically at Shang Zanpo, then happily greeted him, and said again and again: "Fourth uncle has worked hard all the way. ”

"It's okay to work hard, but the terrain is too high, and it's hard for me to adapt, so it's better to go back to Chang'an!" Pei Yi and Zhang Huan were at odds, he pulled Zhang Huan's arm and said with a smile: "I met Ying'er and my nephew in Jincheng County, congratulations to my nephew." ”

Speaking of this, he suddenly remembered something, and asked with some surprise: "The virtuous nephew just went to Chang'an, why did he come back again?" ”

Zhang Huan saw that Li Mo was behind him, so he didn't say anything, so he gave Pei Yi a look. smiled quietly: "The problem of party members has not been completely solved, and there have been signs of imminent action recently, Pei Xiang was worried that they might make trouble in the New Year, so he ordered me to return to take precautions." ”

At this time, Li Mo stepped forward and smiled at Zhang Huan and said: "Speaking of which, this time it is thanks to Pei Yuanjun who has been maneuvering around and guaranteeing that there is no shortage of pensions, and the situation in my Fengxiang has stabilized. ”

"Where! Where! Zhang Huan smiled politely: "The stability of Fengxiang's situation is the top priority. If it weren't for Li Yuanjun's persuasion, my 2,000 people would have entered the city, which would be no less than adding fuel to the fire. ”

"It turns out that Zhang Yuanjun is also a person who understands the general situation."

Li Mo glanced at Pei Yi, and his face slowly sank. He sneered and said: "Since the situation in Fengxiang is stable, then please ask Zhang Yuanjun to order that the 20,000 troops stationed at the junction of Fengxiang and Kaiyang can go back." ”

Pei Yi suddenly realized the seriousness of the problem, he had just heard that Zhang Huan had taken advantage of the Shu chaos to occupy Longyou, and when he was shaking his head, he now learned that Zhang Huan was going to send troops to Fengxiang. Thinking of Zhang Huan's early return, his first reaction was that Zhang Huan wanted to take advantage of the unstable heart of Fengxiang's army to seize Fengxiang again, which was absolutely not good, which would not only ruin Zhang Huan's reputation, but also jeopardize the balance of power in the imperial court.

For a while. He didn't even think about the deep meaning of Zhang Huan's eyes on him. He said to Zhang Huan seriously: "Virtuous nephew, now that the imperial court is in turmoil, stability is more important than everything, please put the overall situation first, do more things that are beneficial to the Tang Dynasty, and don't be laughed at by outsiders." ”

Zhang Huan smiled faintly: "I'm worried that Fengxiang's situation is out of control. That's why the troops are stationed at the border. If Li Yuanjun doesn't want me to do much, then I will obey the order. It's just that Fengxiang is in chaos again, and Li Yuanjun should not come to me again. ”

As he spoke, he said to Pei Yi again: "It's just Pei Xiangguo's side."

Without waiting for Zhang Huan to finish speaking, Pei Yi said categorically: "Although the virtuous nephew retreats, I will explain it to Pei Xiangguo." ”

"In that case, I might as well be respectful." Zhang Huan immediately called a few pro-soldiers, took out a gold medal and handed it to them, and after a few more words, the pro-soldiers took the order and immediately galloped away.

After dealing with the matter of retiring from the army, Zhang Huan arched his hand and said to Pei Yi: "I'll rest for half a day, buy some items in Fengxiang, I'm going back, can the fourth uncle be interested in talking to me in detail?" ”

"No, the Tibetan envoys are in a hurry to meet the Queen Mother and the Emperor, we have been delayed on the way, and we have to go." Pei Yi bowed to Zhang Huan and said, "Virtuous nephew, we will have a meeting later!" ”

In the distance, the Tibetan envoy Shang Zanpo also bowed to Zhang Huan, and the brigade of men and horses marched out of the city gate to the east, and waited for the Tibetan envoy and Pei Yi to walk clean, Li Mocai smiled at Zhang Huan and said: "Shicai Zhang Zhijun said that he would only rest for half a day and leave, so it is better to go to my line and let me come to enjoy the friendship of the landlord." ”

Zhang Huan knew that he was not at ease with himself, worried that he would not be trustworthy in his words, so he wanted to keep an eye on himself, so he smiled slightly and said: "Li Yuanjun rest assured, I, Zhang Huan, never do things that I am not sure about, since Li Yuanjun is not at ease, then I will go to the barracks to rest for half a day, and I will leave after buying things." ”

After speaking, he turned his horse's head and walked out of the city, Li Mo did not stop him, and waited until Zhang Huan was far away, before he summoned a few of his subordinates and instructed: "Send someone to keep an eye on them, if Zhang Huan has any abnormal movements, report to me immediately!" ”

The sergeant received the order and followed Zhang Huan and his party from a distance, and said that Zhang Huan had just left the city, and he immediately called the soldiers who escorted Hu Yong last night and asked, "Do you know where that person is now?" ”

"Back to the Governor, we still have brothers keeping an eye on him, and we will find him soon."

Zhang Huan nodded and said, "That's good!" Go and bring the man to my barracks, and I have something to say to him. ”

Unlike last night's tent, today's Zhang Huan's entourage is stationed in a barracks, with ready-made barracks, all kinds of facilities, and the conditions are much better than last night, Li Mo thought about it thoughtfully, he ordered several large restaurants in Fengxiang County to send a large amount of wine and food to the barracks early in the morning, and its intention was to prevent Zhang Huan's army from entering the city in a scattered manner.

Zhang Huan entered the camp, and Li Zhiyuan immediately welcomed him into a large barracks, the barracks is a civil structure, three before and after, although it is not luxuriously furnished, it is also clean and tidy, and all kinds of daily necessities are readily available, Cui Ning and the two little girls went to the back room, but Zhang Huan seemed restless, and he paced back and forth in the room with his hands behind his back. From time to time, he stood in front of the window, staring at the towering and wide walls of Fengxiang City in the distance.

At this time, a gentle laugh came from behind him, "Du Du feels a little sorry for giving up the opportunity to take Fengxiang so easily?" ”

Zhang Huan heard Hu Yongdi's voice, he turned around with a smile, and sure enough, it was Hu Yong, who was full of silver hair, standing in front of the door, the winter sun reflected on his smiling face, full of the warmth and kindness of the elders, so that Zhang Huan's heart knot, which was originally a little defensive against him, was also untied at once.

"Sir, please be seated!"

Zhang Huan asked Hu Yong to sit down, since he had seen his thoughts. Zhang Huan no longer concealed it, and said with a frank smile: "Actually, my original idea was indeed to use Fengxiang's soldiers to take it from chaos, not to occupy it only for a short time as Pei Xiangguo said, but I always feel that something is wrong, and now although I have given up, I feel very pity." It's really contradictory to suffer from gains and losses in my heart! ”

Hu Yong watched Zhang Huan silently, listening very attentively, at this moment he suddenly felt as if he had returned to many years ago, the gentle and humble lord had also suffered from gains and losses in order to give up military power and enter Beijing as the crown prince, and he sat opposite him like this. Carefully unravel his earth's heart knot, there is a precedent for King Qin to take power and force the palace in this dynasty, how can he not guard against it today?

Nearly 20 years later, he also sat in front of his son, God's arrangement for the vicissitudes of the world. Is it so wonderful? Hu Yong's heart was suddenly full of emotion. He finally realized that his life would be handed over to the father and son.

He tried his best to restrain the excitement in his heart, and said slowly in a calm tone: "This can only show that Du Du's vision has become long-term, Feng Xiang is just a small mound in front of Du Du's eyes, as long as Du Du needs it, he can step over it at any time." As long as the governor maintains a strong force in front of Fengxiang County. I think for Cui Yuan, this is more pressure on him than taking it. For the governor, it means that you can let go of the big work, and there is no need to taboo the criticism of the imperial court, I still have an old saying, the west expedition to Hehuang can make the governor get the maximum political capital, at this time the center of gravity of the governor's chess should not be in the east, but in the west. ”

Zhang Huan nodded lightly, "What Mr. said is a good word, Zhang Huan wrote it down, I will return to Jincheng County in the afternoon, I don't know what Mr. thinks my top priority should be?" ”

Hu Yong smiled slightly, he stretched out two fingers and said: "It's eight words, two sentences, politics and people, and actively prepare for war." ”

Politically harmonious and actively preparing for war, Zhang Huan muttered twice, and suddenly got up and saluted Hu Yongshen and said, "Please speak carefully, sir!" ”

Hu Yong nodded and said: "Actually, some of the measures you did in Hexi are very right, such as the military household system, exchanging land for soldiers, which can greatly improve the morale of the soldiers and make them realize that their interests are consistent with the interests of the governor, so that no matter who leads the troops, it cannot change the soldiers' loyalty to the governor, and they can continue to promote it in Longyouzhong, which is one of them; The second is to support small and medium-sized landlords, crack down on powerful landlords, the governor try not to violate their interests, on the contrary, to become the spokesperson of small and medium-sized landlords, for example, their children can be hired as officials, the army and local officials must grasp both hands, in this way, in order to make Longyou really become the backing of the governor, and in the future the governor can also rest assured to go to Beijing as an official, which is called political communication and harmony. ”

"What about active preparations?" Zhang Huan asked again.

"I don't need to say much to actively prepare for the war, I only have two suggestions, one is that the governor should establish a detailed intelligence network, Hehuang, Chang'an, Hedong, Hebei, Shandong, Jiannan, etc., all of them must arrange manpower, and the other is that the governor should solve the eastern party of Yinchuan County and the Lingwu County as soon as possible, and don't let them become the pawns of others to contain the governor."

Some of Hu Yong's words were thought of by Zhang Huan, but some were the first time he heard them, such as fighting powerful landlords and relying on small and medium-sized landlords, which made his eyes shine, as if he saw the sun through the clouds, making the road ahead of him clear, and it seemed that getting Hu Yong was indeed his great luck.

Zhang Huan stood up again and bowed to him deeply, "Mr.'s words, Zhang Huan engraved in my heart, I will have a retribution in the future!" ”

Hu Yong shook his head lightly and smiled: "I don't want you to repay anything, I just want you to promise me one thing." ”

"Sir, please."

Hu Yong stared at Zhang Huan deeply, and he said word by word: "As long as you agree, no matter how harsh my advice is in the future, you must not find an excuse to kill me!" ”

Zhang Huan was stunned, he lowered his head and pondered for a long time, then suddenly sighed and said: "Take people as a reference, you can know the gains and losses." Taizong followed the advice like a stream, and finally got the rule of Zhenguan, I Zhang Huan got up at the end, how could I not understand this reason, Mr. matter, I agreed. ”

Hu Yong smiled and said nothing, and at this time, the voice of the soldiers came from outside the door, "Dudu." The people of Fengxiang City have been brought. ”

"Let him in!" Zhang Huan then whispered to Hu Yong: "Before leaving Fengxiang, you need to explain it clearly to Pei Xiang. ”

In a moment, two soldiers brought in one of them, and I saw that he was about thirty years old, with cold eyes, yellowish skin, and a tall and thin figure. He seemed very shrewd and capable, he had been to Yu County the night before, but Zhang Huan had not seen him.

When he saw Zhang Huan, he immediately stepped forward and bowed, "Down there is Han Qing, the judge of the Fengxiang Army, see Zhang Yuanjun!" ”

"It turned out to be Judge Han. It's rude! Zhang Huan bowed and smiled, and then ordered his subordinates: "Sit down for Judge Han!" ”

The two soldiers immediately brought a velvet blanket and laid it out in front of Han Qing, Han Qing waved his hand, "Li Mo has already sent someone to keep an eye on the governor." I can't stay long. Let's cut a long story short. ”

"In that case, I'll be straight to the point." Zhang Huan's face sank, and he said unceremoniously: "I have transferred the Yang County garrison and the Longxi County garrison, a total of 20,000 troops to the Fengxiang border, just wait for the Fengxiang army to be chaotic, and then I can act, but Judge Han disappointed me." The situation in Fengxiang County is calm. I can't do it, so how can I explain it to Pei Xiang? ”

Han Qing also sighed. Said helplessly: "I know that the governor is ready, originally Fengxiang's military heart has been disturbed by me, it is the time to do it, but yesterday it was a sideshow, Taifu Temple Pei Zhijun happened to return to Fengxiang, he did not know the situation, and vouched for the army without authorization, so that the military heart stabilized again, and the lower official could not persuade him, and he was also very frustrated. ”

Zhang Huan also let out a sigh of relief, and said hatefully: "An hour ago, I entered the city and happened to meet Pei Yuanjun, he ordered me to withdraw from the army, and said that he would explain everything to Pei Xiangguo, I was forced to be helpless, and I agreed." ”

Speaking of this, Zhang Huan squinted and looked at Han Qing with a smile, Han Qing suddenly understood what Zhang Huan meant, he had actually given up this operation, and wanted to put the responsibility on Pei Yi by himself, Han Qing was very embarrassed, he originally wanted to persuade Zhang Huan to forcibly occupy Longyou, but people no longer wanted to bear this notoriety, and they couldn't persuade him if they were soft-spoken, and they couldn't persuade him, thinking about it for a long time, Han Qing finally sighed helplessly, what Zhang Huan said was indeed the only way, otherwise Pei Xiang would be held accountable, and he would not be able to bear this responsibility.

"Okay, I'll send a letter to Xiangguo immediately, and report the governor's intentions truthfully!"

"That's not what I meant." Zhang Huan saw that he was treacherous, so he said coldly: "If you want to live, then you should know how to report to Pei Xiangguo, otherwise I will accidentally say that I will show my mouth in front of Cui Xiangguo." ”

The other party's naked threat made the sweat on Han Qing's back brush down, he knew that the power struggle between the DPRK and China was extremely cruel, and he was already involved in it, Han Qing hurriedly wiped the sweat on his forehead, and said in a low voice: "The lower official understands that the report should write the best efforts of the governor." ”

"There you go!" Zhang Huan's smile became unusually amiable, "In the future, I will send someone to contact Judge Han, don't worry!" I will not do you any wrong. ”

Seeing this poor Judge Han leave with one foot deep and one foot shallow, Zhang Huan stretched his waist and said with a smile: "Okay, order the brothers to pull out the camp and go home!" ”

Half an hour later, thousands of troops finally left Fengxiang in a mighty way and drove towards Longyou.

Chang'an, Pei Fu, Pei Jun received Fengxiang Han Qing's pigeon letter half a day later, at this time, this long and thin letter scroll was spread flat on the table, Pei Jun was pacing in the room angrily with his hands behind his back, what made him angry was not only the failure of this operation, but also Zhang Huan's return to Longyou, and did not return to Chang'an.

This shows that he is not enthusiastic about his right dispute, Pei Jun even suspects that Zhang Huan has no sincerity in taking Fengxiang, he actually said that he has no excuse and can't act, so why did he dare to risk the world when he took Longyou, does he think that if he has Longyou, he doesn't need himself?

"This two-faced guy!" Pei Jun scolded in a low voice, but he was helpless, now he didn't have the energy to go to Zhang Huan to settle accounts, the situation in the court and the central government suddenly changed dramatically in the past two days, making it a little difficult for him to seize the road to the right minister, for a while Cui Yuan had begged the queen mother, and officially recommended Cui Yu, the servant of the ministry, to be promoted to the head of the household department, to take over his position as the right minister, and at the same time recommended Li Mian to shoot as the left servant of the book.

Cui Yu's replacement of Cui Yuan was expected by Pei Jun, and Cui Yuan actually did not withdraw from officialdom, but hid behind the scenes to command. Pei Jun already knew these in his heart, the key was that Li Mian, who had suddenly become extremely active recently, and actually took the initiative to contact Zhu Tao, the younger brother of Zhu who sent him to Beijing, and talked with him several times, so as to grasp the initiative to solve the crisis in Shuzhong, and frequently visited the clan and the queen mother, and had the intention of standing on his own, Cui Yuan also saw this. That's why he recommended him to shoot as the left servant of Shangshu, and at the same time let his son Cui Xian be transferred to the servant of the Ministry of Officials, and vacated the position of the waiter of the Ministry of Rites, but he recommended it to Li Mian's eldest son, Li Ping, the former Shaoqing of Dali Temple.

This made Bae Jun hate and anxious if he objected. will offend Li Mian and push Li Mian to the Cui Party, and if he approves, this favor is Cui Yuan's, and Li Mian is also likely to be inclined to the Cui Party.

In this way, it is easy for him to gain the upper hand in the cabinet. was leveled by Cui Yuan all of a sudden, and even turned into a disadvantage, and now, Pei Jun has to admire Cui Yuan's old scheming and give up an insignificant etiquette department. But his plan to seize the right phase was ruined.

Originally, Zhang Huanruo captured Fengxiang. Maybe he can also put strong pressure on Cui Yuan, but now, Pei Jun shook his head helplessly, is he really not blessed to be promoted to the right minister?

Just when Pei Jun sighed for a long time, hundreds of palace guards escorted the Empress Dowager Cui Xiaofu and stopped in front of the door of the Right Prime Minister's Mansion.

Today is the fifth day of the first lunar month, and it is the day for the Cui family to worship their ancestors. The Xiangguo Mansion, which had always been deserted, suddenly became lively. Nearly 100 Cui family officials and important ministers in Chang'an rushed to Cui's mansion with their families.

The ancestral hall of the Cui family is in Qinghe County, Shandong, but there is a spiritual hall in the back garden of Xiangguo Mansion. It is specially used for the Chang'an Cui family who cannot return to their hometown to worship their ancestors.

The procedures for worshipping ancestors are complicated, and these chores are arranged by Cui Xian, who is about to become the servant of the ministry, Cui Yuan's body cannot move, and there will be children to carry him to worship at that time.

However, Cui Yuan will not go anywhere at this time, he is lying in the ward, receiving an important person from the Cui family, that is, the uninvited Empress Dowager Cui Xiaofu.

Since getting a letter from Zhang Huandi, Cui Yuan knew that Zhang Huan would not cooperate with Pei Jundi's plan to seize the phase, that is to say, he would not take the opportunity to occupy Fengxiang or even Guanzhong, which made him worry about the future, although he had strongly opposed the clan's entry into the cabinet, but in the face of the core interests of the Cui family, he gave in, so he played a wonderful chess game and successfully won over Li Mian, who had been hovering left and right, and even a little left-leaning.

"The little sister can remember that she is a member of the Cui family, which makes the eldest brother very pleased, in the past, the eldest brother was a little mean to you, and that was also because I was afraid that others would criticize our Cui family, I hope the little sister can understand the hard work of the eldest brother."

Cui Yuandi's tone was extremely sincere, Cui Xiaofu's sudden arrival made him understand something, he didn't ask Li Mian to favor him, as long as Li Mian was neutral, then he had a way to block Pei Jun's plan, and the most critical person in this was Cui Xiaofu, the queen mother who had been refrigerated by him.

He knew that Li Mian was loyal to the Queen Mother, which means that Cui Xiaofu's attitude would determine Li Mian's crucial vote, and now that Cui Xiaofu came uninvited, would her real purpose be to come to make conditions?

Cui Yuandi's hunch is not wrong, today Cui Xiaofu is not here to worship her ancestors, the day after tomorrow is the New Year's Dynasty, and the agenda of the New Year's Dynasty is still drawn up by Cui Yuan for the time being, she no longer wants to be a puppet in the Dynasty, she wants to use the New Year's Dynasty to show her existence, which must be revised on the agenda.

Although Cui Xiaofu is a member of the Cui family, the Cui family does not represent her interests, her interests are in the clan, so if Cui Yuan does not agree to her conditions, then Li Mian's vote will be voted for Pei Jun without hesitation, this is her Cui Xiaofu's biggest weapon, after listening to the eldest brother's seemingly sincere explanation, she smiled faintly and said: "I may forget the past, or I may remember it clearly, it depends on what the eldest brother does in the future." ”

Cui Yuan didn't speak for a long time, he pondered for a long time, and suddenly said: "I can give you the power appropriately, but this power cannot exceed the scope of the first emperor's power." ”

Cui Xiaofu shook her head, "Not enough!" Pei Jun also promised me the qualifications to participate in the cabinet meeting, and I gave you the opportunity precisely because you were my brother. ”

"Little sister!" Cui Yuan frowned, and reproached dissatisfiedly: "Why are you so willful, it is related to the fundamental interests of my Cui family, how can you be tempted by Pei Jun's petty profits and forget that you are a member of the Cui family?" ”

"People from the Cui family?" Cui Xiaofu sneered, "The mourning family is now the Empress Dowager of the Tang Dynasty, and today I am here to visit Cui Xiangguo's illness, if Xiangguo is seriously ill, the mourning family will consider letting Pei Xiangguo take over as the right minister, and the left minister's mourning family will recommend the crown prince Zhan Shi Li Mian to serve." ”

"You!" Cui Yuan saw that she was so ruthless, he was furious, and his eyes were staring at her angrily, but Cui Xiaofu stood up unhurriedly, "The mourning family will give Xiangguo a little time to think about it, now the mourning family will return to the palace, before tomorrow morning, if Xiangguo does not reply, then the mourning family will go to discuss the arrangements of the dynasty with Pei Xiangguo, Cui Xiangguo will respect himself!" ”

After Cui Xiaofu finished speaking, she turned around gracefully and left Cui Yuan's room, and before she walked out of the door, Cui Yuan suddenly let out a long sigh, "Okay!" I promise your conditions. ”

On the seventh day of the first month of the third year of Xuanren, the New Year's Dynasty kicked off, which was a court meeting that changed the power structure of the Tang Dynasty, Cui Yuan participated in the court meeting for the last time, in the previous cabinet vote, with a vote of four to three, Cui Yu, the servant of the Ministry of Officials, was officially promoted to the right minister of the Tang Dynasty, and the Queen Mother Cui Xiaofu also audited the cabinet meeting for the first time, and before voting on the right minister, she put forward a proposal to appease Shuzhong Zhu and alleviate the current war crisis, she proposed to canonize Zhu as the envoy of Jiannan Jiedu and the general of Huaihua, And Zhu's brother Zhu Tao was named the doctor of Yinqing Guanglu, and at the same time, Cui Xiaofu proposed to seal the right section of Long, so that Zhang Huan was the prince of Tianbao County, and he actually sealed 1,500 households.

Her proposal was fully supported by Li Mian, the new Shangshu left servant, and was reluctantly agreed by most cabinet members, but it was this beginning that made Cui Xiaofu embark on the road of power from then on, and also made subtle changes in the power structure of the Tang Dynasty.