Fu Weiming's debriefing was carried out for nearly two hours, according to the original plan, after Jiannan Jiedu made Zhang Qiu and Qiong's debriefing, the postponement of the post was postponed to the New Year, and after half an hour, Li Longji's spirit slowed down slightly, and he returned to the imperial study, Li Linfu was still waiting here, tomorrow is the New Year, as a country's own subjects said something.

The imperial study has been ventilated, the air has become fresh and full of warmth, a few pots of vigorous plum blossoms have been placed on the windowsill, the room is filled with a faint fragrance, and from time to time there is a 'crackling' sound of charcoal bursting, and a string of sparks is exploded.

Li Longji casually looked at the folds on the table, and said with a faint smile: "Although I live in the downtown area, I don't know the livelihood of the people at all, and I am ashamed to say it. ”

Li Linfu looked up at the ceiling, he didn't speak for a long time, he was busy with court chores and conspiracy calculations every day, but he never paid attention to the firewood, rice, oil and salt of the ordinary people, the emperor suddenly asked this, which really made him embarrassed, but he couldn't let him follow the example of Chen Ping of the Western Han Dynasty, saying that everything has his own specialty, and Xiangguo doesn't care about trivial matters!

"I don't know about this.

His frankness made Li Longji have a good impression, and he couldn't help laughing: "It's me who asked the wrong question, how can I ask Xiangguo about this matter, it's okay, I just find someone to ask." ”

"Your Majesty, the old slave knows."

Gao Lishi, who was standing with his hands hanging on the side, said with a smile: "The old slave always has to talk to his old wife every day when he goes home, and the price of this rice knows a little bit about it." ”

"Oh! Tell me what is the price of rice in Chang'an now? Li Longji asked with great interest.

Gao Lishi thought about it and said cautiously: "During the Laba Festival, it was forty-five yuan per bucket, and it has risen to fifty-five yuan in the past two days. ”

"Fifty-five dollars!"

Li Longji was secretly taken aback, Tianbao was only ten dollars of rice in the early years, it was only five years, and it was five times longer, rice is the vane of prices, and other things must also skyrocket, but the newly minted copper coins in the past two years have been reduced by one percent compared with the Kaiyuan Dynasty, it should be that money is expensive and rice is cheap, how can it be the opposite, he couldn't help but look at Li Linfu, hoping to get an answer from him.

Although he does not know the geometry of the price of rice, Li Linfu is very clear about the reason for the rise in the price of rice, in fact, it is that the land annexation is becoming more and more serious, and it can be seen from the data reported by the household department every year that there are fewer and fewer landed peasants, and others do not say that he himself has as many as 2,000 grain fields in the Jingzhao area, and there are countless slaves and maids, and the family has more than 10,000 stone of grain.

Those princes and nobles are even more unscrupulous in enclosing land, and they do not pay a penny of taxes, the court rent is getting less and less, and they can't take out grain to stabilize prices, and the price of rice will of course skyrocket.

He knew all this, could he say it? He didn't believe that Li Longji didn't know, besides, he was also a member of this interest group, how could he harm his own interests?

Let all the suffering be borne by those ordinary people!

Seeing that he was silent in thought, Gao Lishi smiled and relieved him: "Presumably because of the New Year, every household is busy storing rice, which has caused the price of rice to rise. ”

Li Linfu woke up to the fact that Gao Lishi was hinting that he should not spoil the emperor's mood for the New Year, he touched his huge nose and immediately smiled: "This is only one reason, but there are too many porridge sheds in Chang'an recently, and all the emperors are busy doing good deeds, and all the grain in Chang'an is gone, and the price of grain will naturally rise." ”

The two people's evasive answer made Li Longji sigh secretly, from the late Kaiyuan Dynasty, he found the signs of merging fields, but at that time the national strength was prosperous, he didn't want to make a big move, and today the problem is serious, but he has lost the land problem of reform is the limelight, the rulers of the past dynasties are unable to solve it, it is like a cancer, can only let it fester, to the later period of landless peasants rose up, leaving a good start, so the beginning of the dynasties were mostly politically clear, the reason is that the population has declined sharply, and the land has not become a problem.

The root cause of the extreme decline of the Tang Dynasty was that the strings of the land crisis, which were getting tighter and tighter, finally broke off, leading to a series of serious problems, such as financial bankruptcy and the collapse of the military system, which made the central government unable to control the localities, and finally caused the Anshi Rebellion.

As the supreme ruler, Li Longji was also powerless to change the fate of this dynasty, so he gradually turned his attention to the sound of dogs and horses, to numb himself, and forget all his worries.

"The worries of the world are worried, and the joy of the world is happy!" The reason why it has become a famous sentence through the ages is because there are too few people who can do it.

At this moment, Li Longji was no longer in the mood to care about the people's livelihood, he accepted the joke, turned the topic to business, and said lightly to Li Linfu: "I will go to the Hot Spring Palace the day after tomorrow, and the affairs of the court will be troublesome and worrying about Xiangguo." ”

Li Linfu's face was solemn, he stood up and bowed down and replied, "The minister respectfully obeys the holy will!" ”

"I'm a little tired, so let's stop for today!" Li Longji got up to leave, but Li Linfu remembered something and said hurriedly: "Your Majesty, the minister still has something to do." ”

Li Longji stopped, glanced at him, but did not sit down, only turned his back to him and said, "What's the matter?" ”

"At the beginning of this year, after Guo Xu, the left servant of the household department, was the assassin of Yizhou, the position has been vacant until now, and Yang Guozhong, the imperial historian, is proficient in the degree of support, and the minister recommended him to take this position concurrently, hoping that the emperor will approve it."

The household department has always been the traditional sphere of influence of Tai Li Heng, and Zhang Yun, the secretary of the household department, is also a supporter of Tai, but the Tang Shangshu is only in name and not pragmatic, so the real power of each ministry is actually in the hands of the squire, and the squire is generally set up in two

At the beginning of the year, when Guo Xu, Li Linfu's original intention was to let Wang: {: Shaoyin, it is not appropriate to want to abolish Tai, it is a good opportunity, and Yang Guozhong's holy family is thick, Li Longji has also publicly expressed his attitude, Yang Guozhong is a good Duzhilang, so Li Linfu will not be rejected.

Unexpectedly, Li Longji smiled coldly and said: "Yang Guozhong's promotion has been too fast, and it has no merit, if he is promoted again, I am afraid that the whole world will scold me for abusing my relatives, let him rest assured for a few years, besides, I have already been selected for this position, and it will be officially announced after the next year." ”

Li Linfu was secretly taken aback, and then asked: "The minister dares to ask Your Majesty, I don't know who Your Majesty is going to appoint to this position?" The minister can first submit it to the ministry for the record. ”

He is the right minister, according to the Tang Dynasty system, the ministry officials below the third rank and above the fifth rank should be proposed by him and submitted to Li Longji for approval, even if it is a formality, it must be handled according to this procedure.

Li Longji touched his chin and said with a slight smile: "It's hard to say now, but this person is still young, and he is a rising star of my Tang Dynasty." Xiangguo and him should be old acquaintances. ”

After saying that, Li Longji tilted his head, laughed twice, and then walked towards the harem surrounded by hundreds of eunuchs, palace ladies and guards.

"Who does the emperor want to use to break the control of the Taidang over the household department?"

Li Linfu pondered, 'Still young? Comer? Suddenly, his eyes slowly shone out, and he had already guessed who it was.

.

'The flowers are similar every year, but the people are different every year'

Every year's New Year is much the same, the twenty-four families in the lunar month begin to dust off, hang the portraits of Qin Shubao and Yu Chigong to drive away demons, go out seven things, food and clothing first, no matter how poor people will kill chickens and pigs in the New Year, eat a big meal, and then tear a new dress for the children, it doesn't cost much cloth, but it is auspicious.

On the evening of the thirtieth day, every household uses a long bamboo pole to barbecue on the fire, so that the bamboo bursts and makes a loud noise to drive away evil spirits, which is called 'firecrackers'.

On the first day of the new year, it is the day of ancestor worship and incense, from the royal family to the common people of Li, kowtow to the ancestors, but the purpose is to dig up the inheritance of the ancestors, so that they can share the blessings of the underworld to the grandchildren of the yang world.

From the second day of the new year, it is the beginning of the greeting year, the juniors give the elders, the subordinates give the bosses, especially those who want to be promoted and make a fortune in the new year, the New Year is an opportunity, the name thorn to be handed over, but the gift must not be less.

Tianbao's five years of Chang'an New Year, but there is a beautiful scenery, that is, the continuous miles of soup soup shed on Zhuque Street, this is the benevolence and righteousness of the emperors for the name of Bo Xian, at first it was all over Chang'an, but on the second day of the new year, all the porridge sheds were gathered on Zhuque Street, the reason is very simple, this morning, Tang Tian Li Longji and the concubine are going to go to Lishan Huaqing Palace.

In order to leave a deep impression on his father, the eight immortals of each emperor crossed the sea, each showing his magical powers, the porridge shed was wrapped with brocade, some invited celebrities to write inscriptions, and some spent money to hire beggars to sing praises for the prince on the street; In short, they are all well-intentioned, just for the sake of Bo's father. Of course, the time does not need to be too long, as long as the father and the emperor pass by, the left hand carries a long spoon, and the right hand caresses the head of a little beggar lovingly, so that this touching picture is frozen in the eyes of the father, and the goal is achieved.

It is not that there are fewer people to eat, but that the soup kitcheners have lost their motivation, and even some porridge sheds have begun to be dismantled, waiting for the return of the father and emperor on the Yuan Festival.

At this time, a group of horseback riders came from outside the Suzaku Gate, about fifteen or one, all of them were dressed as soldiers, all of them were fierce and indifferent, and their bodies exuded murderous aura.

At the head was a young general, tall and broad-shouldered, his skin was dark, the bridge of his nose was high and straight, his lips were angular and angular, as if they were roughly hewn from rock, and there was already a short black beard on his chin, which looked a little old and heavy, and there was rarely the frivolity or emotion of young people, so plain that there was no trace of joy and sorrow, but the occasional shot of fine light was extremely sharp and terrifying.

Naturally, he was Li Qing, the governor of Shazhou, who had just been dismissed as the deputy envoy of Longyou Jiedu, and came to Beijing to report on his work, and Bian Lingcheng had something to leave when he passed through Xianyang, so Li Qing came to Beijing alone, and accompanied him with a sick-looking young man, who was his staff Gao Shi, who was responsible for the preparation of the case for this debriefing, and suffered from the wind and cold all the way, and was a little sick.

"Chang'an City deserves to be the capital, and there are so many people who do good deeds!" It was the first time for Li Fei Yuanli to come to Chang'an, and he couldn't help but sigh when he looked at the porridge shed that stretched for several miles.

Li Qing looked at the plaque of a certain Wang's mansion hanging on the porridge shack, and sneered slightly: "It's best that the emperor is undecided for a few years, so that this good deed can really become a good deed." ”

Li Fei Shouyu seemed to have an understanding, and said: "Du Du refers to.

"You just need to know in your heart, don't ask too much."

Li Qing patted him on the shoulder and smiled apologetically: "Follow me and let you be wronged." ”

Lifei Shouyu shook his head and said lightly: "The governor dares to kill Tubo Zampu, I can only say that the governor is a brave man, but the governor endured the person surnamed Dong, which made me make a decision to follow the governor, the governor is a very person, and over time, he will be able to roar into the sky." ”

Gao Shi also stepped forward and said with a joke: "The former prince has been out for decades, and ordinary people can't bear it, so it becomes a big thing, although the governor was dismissed as the deputy envoy of the festival, but he has not lost his position, and he can still go to Beijing to report on his work, An."

A blessing in disguise? ”

"Sour! Acid died of old age. ”

Next to him, Li Fei Yuanli grinned and shouted, causing everyone to burst into laughter.

Suddenly, there was a big chaos behind him, and the people who were crowded at the gate of the city and were ready to go out of the city all turned around and ran back, hiding behind the house at the foot of the wall, and timidly looked at this side, Li Qing was surprised, and also looked back, but saw a Biao army and horses outside the city gate, not to mention thousands of people, did not play flags, lined up in three teams, bows, horses, and infantry were complete, all of them were holding knives and horizontal lances, and they were murderous, and there was a carriage between them, which was slowly entering the city, the body was wide, wrapped in iron sheets, and the arrows could not be penetrated.

One of the soldiers handed a letter to the soldiers defending the city, and the soldiers immediately collected their guns and lined up and let the team enter the city.

"Which way is this?" Li Qing saw that the team was majestic and neat, and couldn't help but secretly wonder, he ordered his subordinates to flash to the side and get out of the way, at this time, the chariot team entered the city gate and passed by them, and the terrifying murderous aura frightened the people on both sides to retreat, and they didn't dare to speak, but Li Qing and a dozen other people were abruptly on the side of the road.

"It's An Lushan!"

Gao Shi suddenly lost his voice and shouted, when he traveled to Youzhou, he saw that young man, it was An Lushan's subordinate strategist noble, because each other's surname was Gao, so he was deeply impressed.

"An Lushan?" Li Qingxin was very interested, he stared intently at the carriage ten zhang away, and he wanted to take a look at this person who almost made the Tang Dynasty lose his country.

Perhaps it was Gao Shi's loss of voice that attracted the attention of the other party, and the carriage curtain opened a slit, revealing a pair of shining eyes, stabbing Li Qing directly, the two eyes collided, but Li Qing smiled slightly, which was regarded as a greeting.

The other party's stabbing gaze flashed a hint of surprise, An Lushan instructed the soldier next to him through the curtain of the car, the soldier also looked up at Li Qing, nodded, urged the horse to come this way, and walked in front of Li Qing, he arched his hand and smiled, "In the lower noble, my general asks for the name of the general." ”

Li Qing also returned the salute with a smile: "Li Qing in Xiasha Prefecture." ”

"But Li Qing who killed the king of Tubo and captured the stone castle city?" Gao Shang's face was full of shock, and he looked Li Qing up and down, he had already heard of his name, but he didn't expect the other party to be so young.

Li Qing smiled slightly, and said modestly: "Mr. Gao's words are serious, Li Qing has occasionally made small contributions, and he is not enough to worry about." ”

"I am not arrogant in my achievements, I am not young and not vigorous, don't say that my family is a general, even I like it."

Gao Shang smiled and made a gesture of invitation, "The general of my family saw that Li Dudu was extraordinary, and wanted to ask for a meeting." ”

"Okay, I've heard the name of General An for a long time, and I want to see it." Without waiting for the persuasion of his subordinates behind him, he urged his horse to meet him.

The horse team had stopped, and when they saw Li Qing coming up, all the troops dodged out of the way, but the murderous aura was even stronger, staring at this uninvited guest who was close to An Lushan

An Lushan's car curtain has been pulled up, revealing a fat face, as if it was coated with Indian divine oil, the face is shiny, swollen and big, and the facial features are crowded into a pile, which is a bit like the pumpkin face of the Western Halloween in later generations, his eyes are shining slightly, the corners of his mouth are smiling, and he is looking at Li Qing approaching. At this time, Gao Shang caught up from behind and whispered a few words in his ear, An Lushan's eyes immediately became hot, and he looked at Li Qing and said with a smile: "It turned out to be Li Dudu, there are quite a few people under him, and there is Lao Li Dudu to make way." ”

Li Qing didn't dare to despise this Tang Xiaoxiong, he first gave a salute on the horse, and said with a faint smile: "The general has just quelled the rebellion of Khitan and Xi, and there are many enemies, so I feel it is necessary." ”

An Lushan's heart was full of joy when he said this, he looked up to the sky and laughed, and said in a loud voice: "I have been scolded by people all the way, saying that I am arrogant and arrogant, I can't imagine that Li Dudu can understand, which really moved An." ”

He looked at Li Qing and couldn't help but say angrily: "We are all people on the border, the conditions are bad and forbearance, the most angry is not this group of officials in the capital, all of them are clothed and fed, let's make some contributions, they are like black corns, horizontal and vertical, take you Li Dudu as an example, take such a big credit for Shibao City, and don't even let go of a fart, and keep saying that killing Tubo Zampu will affect the overall situation, and that Tubo Zampu killing his wife will not affect the overall situation, a bunch of rotten Confucianism, but also fake benevolence and righteousness, the big husband does things, just beware of ruthlessness, kill when you should kill, Otherwise, how can we quell the border chaos. ”

Although this person rebelled later, but he listened to the words, Li Qing also smiled and said: "I didn't expect the general to be quick to speak, Li Qing thank you." ”

"Might as well be! Might as well! If Governor Li feels that Shazhou is wronged, and the Governor of Youzhou under my rule is also vacant, why don't I tell the emperor that I will transfer Governor Li to me and never let you be wronged, what do you think? ”

This is the real purpose of An Lushan, Li Qing knows his old background, how can he agree, he smiled and said: "Thank you for the general's attention to Li Qing, it's just that the day is long, let's talk about it after the debriefing!" ”

An Lushan wanted to persuade again, but suddenly a convoy came from the opposite side, with countless guards and guards, and someone stepped forward to inquire and hurriedly returned to report, "General, it's Li Xiangguo's carriage." ”

An Lushan's face was full of astonishment, he slammed the car door and jumped out of the carriage, his fat and round body rolled towards Li Linfu's carriage like a ball, and shouted repeatedly: "Li Xiang, my subordinates have missed the distance, forgive your sins!" Forgiveness! ”

Li Qing looked at An Lushan from a distance and nodded in front of Li Linfu's carriage like a groundhog, and couldn't help but secretly be vigilant, "People say that Li Linfu is the nemesis of the border generals, whether it is An Lushan, Wang Zhongsi, Gao Xianzhi or later Ge Shuhan, they are very afraid of him, and now it seems that it is really good, I should be careful." ”

Just thinking about it, Li Linfu's chief guard stepped forward and looked at Li Qingdao: "Governor Li, Xiangguo invites you over." ”