Oyu Kowloon Hall.

The water of the hot springs was thick and smoke was coming out of the incense burner, making the whole inner sanctum a little foggy.

On the couch, the statue of white marble is motionless, and behind the couch, an old eunuch is sitting on a blanket, listening to Wang Zhonghe's lengthy words, holding a brush to make records.

Wang Zhongsi talked about some things in Shuofang and Hebei, and from time to time mentioned Turkic and Khitan, and some awkward names came up.

"The Hui chieftain Guli Peiluo is dead, and his son Moyan Si has succeeded him. The minister thought that after Abs fled north, if he did not take refuge in Hui, he would have to take refuge in Qarluq. Over the years, Hui Hui's control over Ge Lulu has not been as good as before, causing Ge Lulu to stand on his own and protect himself, which may lead to chaos......"

The voice was very weak, and the old eunuch could not understand this, and his head became lower and lower, as if he was about to fall asleep.

A little eunuch quietly walked in from the back court, his steps lighter than a cat, and handed over a small scroll.

The old eunuch took the unfolded scroll and glanced at it, and cleared his throat slightly.

"I know."

A very strange scene appeared, and the voice that came out of the old eunuch's mouth was eight points similar to that of a saint. If you listen to it through the screen, it seems that the white marble statue on the royal couch has spoken.

Just according to the script, the tone can't help but be a little flat, not as full as the usual tone of the saint.

"In this incident, I know that Ah Xun has been wronged, and I will recuperate first......"

"Your Majesty!"

On the other side of the screen, Wang Zhongsi suddenly became excited, as if he was about to stand up, which caused the old eunuch who was looking out here to feel very nervous. Fortunately, Wang Zhonghei was weak and adhered to the courtesy, and did not break into the inner hall, but knelt on the ground with his arms folded.

"The land east of the river, with Hefen, the wings cover Guanluo, regardless of the east to Hebei, south to the Central Plains, all are condescending, can be described as a victory, so not confidants loyal ministers can not be relied on, please Your Highness, do not take An Lushan lightly!"

An abrupt and fierce exhortation overwhelmed the old eunuch in the inner hall, but he replied again: "I know." ”

Fearing that Wang Zhongji would talk endlessly, he hurriedly read the contents of the scroll.

"A-xun and step down, so that you can recuperate. But there's a problem, and you're making it difficult for me to deal with it. ”

"The minister is guilty, and he knows that he has made His Majesty suffer, and he is willing to redeem him with death."

The old eunuch didn't care what Wang Zhongji answered, he read it to himself, and said: "You deceived the king, and the news of your death has been announced, if you change your course, where is the majesty of the court?" Let's live in seclusion and recuperate, and after I recover, I will try to restore you again. ”

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Wang Zhongsi has long been mentally prepared for this, "The ministers obey the order, and they will never dare to show people in the name of Wang Zhonghei in the future." ”

"I just hope that you will be healthy and live a long life, and you don't have to think about it beforehand."

The voice without any ups and downs came, Wang Zhongsi listened, his heart was lost, and the thousand words that had been brewing were swallowed back.

For a moment, he seemed to have been drained of his spiritual energy, and he collapsed weakly on the soft couch, allowing others to carry him out. The excessive blood loss made him dizzy, and he thought that he had done his best, and that all the burdens that should be handed back were handed back, and he closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

When I woke up again, I had already arrived in another business in Zhaoying County, and Wang Yunxiu was anxiously calling "Grandpa" in my ears.

"Xue Lang?"

Wang Zhonghei was powerless to pay attention to his daughter, his eyes opened a slit, and he saw another figure standing in the room.

He rolled his throat twice and muttered, "I'm ...... at the end Have you seen the saints? ”

In fact, he had vaguely noticed that the one in the Nine Dragons Hall did not seem to be a saint, because it was so cold that he couldn't feel the temperature and breath of any living person, but he wasn't sure if the saint was so cold.

Xue Bai hesitated slightly, his eyes fell on Wang Zhonghe's disgraced face, and replied, "I saw it." ”

"All plans went well?" Wang Zhongsi asked.

"There's nothing too big of a problem, what the saint should have seen with his own eyes."

"So we're done?"

"I have done everything I can do, and I have succeeded." Xue Bai paused and continued: "Right now, the sage has detained Ji Wen and Sun Xiaozhe. The team sent by An Lushan to sacrifice prisoners has also been controlled, and the next step is to investigate the case in detail. ”

After a few breaths, Wang Zhonghe's eyes showed a look of relief, and soon dimmed.

He very much wanted to prove his loyalty to the saints, and advised the saints to beware of An Lushan, so as not to cause great chaos in the world when the throne transitioned to the future. At this time, listening to Xue Bai's statement, it should have been successfully achieved. However, he knew in his heart that he still couldn't be completely reassured.

After a moment of silence, he sighed and asked, "Hurt you, didn't you?" ”

"It's okay, the saint doesn't trust me for the time being, and it will be fine sooner or later." Xue Bai said, shook his head self-deprecatingly, and said in a low voice, "It's not important anymore. ”

"I don't know how many times you've protected me." Wang Zhongsi turned his head sideways, looked at Wang Yunxiu, and muttered: "Xue Lang's kindness to me, I am sick and crippled, I am afraid that I will not be able to repay it, you must remember." ”

"Grandpa, don't worry."

Xue Bai said: "The festival commander has great luck, those young people can't kill you, and those difficulties can't be defeated." Please cheer up again, the society still needs to be the pillar of the handsome. ”

Wang Zhongsi was deeply touched by this sentence, and said: "I have never been afraid of my brothers, miscellaneous beards, spit pots and their minions, and I rely on you to protect them several times, and those young people will not take my life." ”

He said this sentence quite proudly.

After several years of being framed, ostracized, poisoned, and assassinated, even this time he was ready to die, and finally survived under Sun Xiaozhe's knife. As Xue Bai said, he will never die in the hands of the young.

But what really wanted to kill him and could kill him all the time was not on the surface.

It was the will of the saint who killed him.

In the end, the saint killed him.

Wang Zhongsi thought about the last few words he heard in the Nine Dragons Hall of the Imperial Soup, and all the brilliance in his eyes gradually faded, and he said a word casually.

"Wang Zhonghe...... He's dead. ”

Xue Bai understood the meaning of this sentence, even if he could save Wang Zhongji a thousand or ten thousand times, as long as the suspicion in Li Longji's heart was not removed, Wang Zhongji would be like a thorn in the emperor's throat, and sooner or later he would have to be pulled out.

For Wang Zhonghe, this is a dead knot; But in Xue Bai's opinion, as long as Li Longji is resolved, this dead knot will be untied.

"You don't have to be lost. Stay in the green mountains, not afraid of no firewood, and first Taoguang to raise obscurity, there is still a day to shine. ”

"You don't understand me." Wang Zhongsi said, "I have been raised by a saint since I was a child......"

He didn't say any more, turned his head and ordered Wang Yunxiu again.

"Funeral, let's do it."

He was raised by the saint since he was a child, upheld loyalty and filial piety in his heart, and regarded the saint as everything, so he didn't even have time to care about his own children, how could he betray the saint.

But his biggest dilemma is that the saint wants him to die.

~~

Paper money is held high.

There was a cry in Wang Zhonghe's house in Yanshoufang, Chang'an City, and then the sound of horses' hooves came, and the mourners looked back and saw that Wang Yunxiu, who had been away for three days, finally returned.

"Little lady, where have you been?"

"I went and asked for a posthumous gift from a saint."

Wang Yunxiu didn't have much expression on his face, took out a scroll of holy decrees from his sleeve, and said, "The saint posthumously presented Grandpa as the crown prince and master." ”

She held the scroll in one hand and did not unfold it, with a flat look, obviously a little disrespectful to the saint. It's just that the crowd is indulging in mourning, bathed in the majesty of grace, and does not notice it.

On the contrary, someone asked curiously, "What about Yuan Zai?" ”

"He was appointed as the chief of Dali and investigated the cause of Grandpa's death."

"Wouldn't Yuan Zai become the highest official in the family now?"

Wang Yunxiu's aunts couldn't help but chatter, forgetting that they were the ones who often ridiculed Yuan Zai back then.

The funeral is more of these smoky things, and before Wang Zhonghei comes out of the funeral, the Wang family's family style has changed, and it is the people who go to tea and cool.

A few days later, he was buried in Bailuyuan.

The sacrificial text was written by Yuan Jae before.

"Gongben Taiyuan Qi people, six generations of ancestors after Wei for the Qingzhou Thorn History, Northern Qi for the Baidao town general, five generations of ancestors with Emperor Wu of Zhou into the ......"

The memorial text is very long, starting from the heroic death of Wang Haibin, the father of Wang Zhonghe, and detailing the exploits of Wang Zhonghe's life, but it seems that he can't finish it. From noon, until the sunset dyes the clouds in the sky red.

"The orphan child was recognized, worked hard, and was brave. He was also appointed, and he was strong in the spirit of the three armies and the strength of ten thousand people. If you punish you, you will be barbaric, and if you are violent, you will be violent and subdued. The covenant has been broken, and the country is in trouble! ”

Hearing this, Wang Yunxiu felt a chill on her face, touched her hand, and was surprised that she shed tears.

In the past, she often forgot that her grandfather had such a magnificent life.

With the last handful of loess being paved, the funeral is over.

Wang Yunxiu was thinking that the experience of Grandpa's encounter was similar to Li Linfu, and hoped that the experience of this tomb would not be similar to Li Linfu again.

In her ears, people have begun to praise her husband.

"Yuan Zai's sacrificial text is really well written, he is talented and filial."

"But he didn't come to the funeral?"

"Having said that, I am still investigating the cause of my uncle's death, and I am more filial than the sons of the Wang family......"

~~

On the same day, Yang Guozhong handed a note to Yuan Zai, smiled brightly, and said, "Congratulations to the flower and bird envoy on officially taking office." ”

"Thank you."

Yuan Zai took the confession, unfolded it and took a look, and saw the few words "Yuan Zai is involved in this matter" on it, but he could feel the great authority it brings. On the surface, he just selected the beauty of the world to be summoned to the palace, but he could take the opportunity to establish a lot of majesty for himself.

In the future, if an official dares to be disobedient, he will choose his wife and daughter to enter the palace, after all, the flower and bird envoy is an errand, and does not look at the door or marriage.

In just this moment, the aura on Yuan Zai's body has changed a little, and it is more powerful.

"Haha." Yang Guozhong couldn't help laughing, "Gongfu, don't be so serious. It's a pleasant job, and do you know what kind of beauty the saint likes? ”

"But like a concubine?"

"That's not right."

"Please also give me advice."

Yang Guozhong smiled mysteriously, and then said: "Saints like all kinds of beauties. ”

This is a funny joke on his part, Yuan Zai had no choice but to laugh, laughing and laughing, and occasionally remembering that today is the day of Wang Zhonghe's funeral.

But Yuanzai knew very well in his heart that he was different from Yang Qixuan, and he was not a villain who betrayed his father-in-law in exchange for his own future. He really had a plan to fulfill Wang Zhonghe's wish.

After talking about the errand of the flower and bird envoy, it is inevitable to mention what happened in the martial arts hall a few days ago, and Yuan Zai did not report it to Yang Guozhong until today.

"So, you're just close to bringing down the crown prince?" Yang Guozhong listened and twisted his long beard with some regret.

Yuan Zai was surprised to hear such a stupid sentence in the power struggle, and hurriedly covered the disdain in his eyes.

"Right Minister, the lower official is a little puzzled, please explain your doubts to the Right Minister."

"But it doesn't hurt to say it." Yang Guozhong waved his sleeves in a dashing manner.

Yuan Zai said: "The right prime minister is the head of the court, and it is his duty to supervise the prince, but he really overthrew the prince, what are the benefits of the right minister?" ”

Yang Guozhong thought about it and asked rhetorically: "We have offended the prince very much, can we sit back and wait to be killed?" ”

Yuan Zai sighed lightly in his heart, and secretly said that the spit pot, which is a good person who is close to the top of the saint, is still thinking about the affairs of the next dynasty, which can only be said to be unfounded.

"The saint is in the prime of life, and the lower officials think that this matter is not enough to worry about for the time being. On the contrary, it was An Lushan, who supported Zhang Yan, Ji Wen and others to fight for power in the DPRK and the right. But the soldiers and horses in the hands of the right minister are not as good as him, so An Lushan is a great enemy. ”

Yang Guozhong nodded and said, "You mean, the prime minister should take this opportunity to deal with Zahu?" ”

"That's right."

Yuan Zai talked eloquently, talked about how to get rid of Ji Wen and Sun Xiaozhe, weaken An Lushan, and also talked about how to get rid of Zhang Yan and Chen Xilie, and let Yang Guozhong take power alone After winning over the border towns, completely get rid of An Lushan, and reach the height of Li Linfu who covers the sky with one hand.

Yang Guozhong nodded again and again when he heard this, and he was very satisfied with this idea.

He made up his mind and handed the sage a fold, and the sage quickly summoned him to his audience.

~~

Now Yang Guozhong's control of the government is far less than that of Li Linfu. In the past, when Li Linfu was there, Li Longji left the government in Chang'an when he went to Huaqing Palace, and now he brought the prime ministers to Lishan.

Xue Bai knew that he might soon be demoted, but thanks to the recent events, Li Longji was unwilling to announce it to the public, and he had not been disposed of for the time being, at least for now, he was still a member of the Zhongshu Society.

By virtue of the power of the Zhongshu Sheren, every time he noticed that there was a Chang'an song sent to Lishan, he would rush to it as soon as possible, and Mao recommended himself to draft an order.

On the same day, Chen Xilie finally asked Xue Bai to draft an important will.

"This?"

Xue Bai looked at the draft, showing some doubts.

Chen Xilie said: "Previously, it was you who spoke to the right minister, An Sishun was appointed as the envoy of Shuofang Jiedu, and he could be relieved of his position as the envoy of Hexi Jiedu, and Gao Xianzhi would be concurrently serving. ”

"Yes."

Xue Bai responded frankly.

This was Wang Zhonghe's suggestion, and he implemented it at that time and persuaded Yang Guozhong.

However, the edict to be drafted today is to comfort An Sishun, saying that the matter of letting him step down as the envoy of Hexi Jiedu is nothing, and the imperial court has no such intention, so that he can stay in office with peace of mind.

"Do you know why this is?"

Chen Xilie glanced at Xue Bai deeply, found a copy from a pile of official documents, and said, "See for yourself." ”

It was a letter named Pei Zhounan who supervised the imperial history, saying that the generals of Hexi, as well as the Hu people, heard that An Sishun was going to step down, and they asked the imperial court to let An Sishun stay in office, and some Hu people even cut off their ears and scratched their cheeks, expressing to the court that they must leave An Sishun's determination.

This is a major event, Absi has rebelled, in case of repeated changes in Hexi due to the transfer of the Jiedu envoy, no one in the court can afford this responsibility, only to appease An Sishun.

Xue Bai saw it and said with a wry smile: "This is what Zuo Xiang once said, is An Sishun loyal to the imperial court?" ”

Chen Xilie said: "In addition to loyalty, who is selfless? Can Xue Lang dare to call himself selfless? If the imperial court asks you to step down as a scholar, you can be willing. ”

Xue Bai said: "Wang Zhonghei is selfless. ”

"Without further ado, let's make a decision."

Xue Bai then drafted another letter to add blockage to his heart.

Perhaps because he knew the direction of history, he now felt more and more that the border towns of the Tang Dynasty were beginning to shake like boiling water.

Xixiuling is still beautiful.

Xue Bai then went to the palace gate to ask for an audience, wanting to talk about An Sishun.

He waited for a long time, and saw that Yang Guozhong came and was introduced into the palace, and then the eunuch came over, and said with a smile: "Xue Lang, please go back, the sage has a state affair to deal with today, don't play cards......"

~~

Now in Li Longji's eyes, Yang Guozhong is a capable and practical minister, and Xue Bai is a worship who can only wait for Zhao Hanlin like Li Bai.

The difference is that Yang Guozhong knows the thoughts of the Son of Heaven and can do things well according to the holy will, while Xue Bai has too many wrong and unrealistic ideas, and thinks that Sheji will be better.

It can be seen from the matter of Wang Zhongsi that Xue Bai sympathized with Wang Zhonghe, but ignored the threat to the family and country brought by a general who was highly meritorious, unruly, and too close to the prince.

Of course, Xue Bai is still young and needs to be tempered. It can only be said that he was promoted to a scholar in the middle school, and some of them were too fast, and the seedlings were promoted. Although it is to commend his exploits in the Battle of Nanzhao, it is also time to knock and beat.

So when Yang Guozhong came to meet him, Li Longji threw this matter out first as an appetizer before talking about major events.

"The minister also thinks that Xue Bai's sudden rise to a high position is too domineering, and he should indeed be sharpened."

Yang Guozhong immediately understood the sage's intentions and pondered how to belittle Xue Bai.

But after thinking about it carefully, it is not easy to find the reason for the time being, the court said that Wang Zhonghei died of illness, and Xue Bai's crime of bullying the king is not easy to proclaim, and although he seems to be full of handles, he really wants to deal with it, but he is neither greedy nor neglectful.

What's more, it is important to deal with An Lushan at the moment.

Yang Guozhong then changed his words and said: "It's just that Xue Bai has only returned from Nanzhao not long ago, and he asked Rong Chen to find a suitable quota. ”

"Yang Qing looks at it, don't forget." Li Longji's mind was not on this matter, thinking about the matter of Hebei, frowning slightly, "The conflict between Sun Xiaozhe and the crown prince, you must have heard about it." ”

"I heard that."

"You're the prime minister, what do you think you should do?"

Yang Guozhong said neatly: "Ministers, please behead Jiwen and Sun Xiaozhe!" ”

This is Wonjae's suggestion, and there is no need to give a reason, because this is something that is not very convenient to say, just put on a resolute attitude and force the saint to make up his mind. Once Ji Wen and Sun Xiaozhe are executed, the problem will be pushed to the top of An Lushan, and Yang Guozhong will be able to seize the initiative.

The premise is that the pressure of the saint must be resisted, and the saint must feel the strong dissatisfaction of the courtiers with An Lushan's lineage.

However, Li Longji had already stared at Yang Guozhong with deep eyes, forcing Yang Guozhong to lower his head.

"It's easy to kill Jiwen and Sun Xiaozhe. But I ask you, An Lushan sent an envoy back to Beijing to offer prisoners, but the people were beheaded, how to appease them in the future? ”

"I think it...... An Lushan connived, and even instructed his subordinates to commit murder, and the imperial court should send an envoy to ask for the guilt, and dismiss his Fan Yang and Pinglu envoys. ”

Yang Guozhong's tone trembled slightly, and he seemed to lack confidence.

"Who can do it?"

"There are two candidates for the minister, one is Ge Shuhan."

After Yang Guozhong paid homage to the prime minister, he was in contact with Ge Shuhan, and now the relationship between them is not bad. If Ge Shuhan was transferred to Fan Yang, Longyou would be out of Que, and Yuan Zai recommended Li Guangbi as the queen of Jiedu because of Wang Zhonghei's relationship.

However, Li Longji frowned directly and stared at Yang Guozhong, doubting the ability of this prime minister.

In recent years, Qinghai has been plagued by frequent wars, the situation between Qinghai and Tibet is fierce, and at the same time, the Western Regions are also constantly disturbed, so it is impossible to mobilize Geshuhan at this time.

Yang Guozhong really didn't know anything about this kind of military affairs, and when he felt the dissatisfaction of the saint, he was weak-hearted, pretending that he was throwing bricks and stones, and hurriedly answered.

"The second candidate for the minister is Xian Yu Zhongtong."

"Huh." Li Longji sneered disdainfully, "You are in Hebei and the situation in Hebei can be compared with Sichuan and Shu." ”

Hebei is located on the border, Hu and Han are mixed, the people's hearts are uncertain, the difficulty of governance is far from being comparable to Sichuan and Shu, Xian Yu Zhongtong is still difficult to make Jiannan Jiedu, and An Lushan is not comparable.

Yang Guozhong didn't dare to argue, and there was no better candidate, so he was speechless for a while.

Seeing that he was speechless, Li Longji changed the topic, asked something else first, and said, "I read the excerpt you approved the day before yesterday, and let An Sishun stay in office?" ”

"Back to the saints, yes." Yang Guozhong said: "An Sishun has been in the border army for a long time, and he has made outstanding achievements......

Li Longji didn't listen to him and raised his hand.

"How long has Ansi been in Hexi? If you want him to step down, you can't do it, do you know how long Hu Er has been in Hebei? ”

Yang Guozhong froze, lowered his head, and responded: "The minister is ashamed." ”

He kept shouting that he wanted to deal with An Lushan, but only today did he realize that this matter was not just to dismiss An Lushan, who had been operating in Hebei for many years and had deep roots.

It's like a radish with a huge rhizome, if you don't dig it down and pull it out, no one can pull it out.

"Hu'er is not something that anyone can replace."

After pondering for a moment, Li Longji said.

Later, he added, "I also believe in his loyalty." ”

"Sage, but Sun Xiaozhe wants to kill Wang Zhonghei, and the evidence for this matter is conclusive."

"He has confessed, and it is a personal vendetta. At that time, Wang Zhonghei went on a northern expedition against the Turks and killed his father, which had nothing to do with Hu'er. ”

Yang Guozhong opened his mouth, and he wanted to ask the sage, "Who tried this case?" How can this be judged? ”

But he also understood that this result was the answer in the heart of the saint.

"You go check it again." Li Longji said, "If the truth is like this, then send Sun Xiaozhe back to Fanyang to see what Hu'er does." ”

"Minister...... Compliance. ”

Yang Guozhong still remembered Yuan Zai's repeated admonition to him that "the attitude must be resolute", and he couldn't help but respond.

In this matter, it is not that he is too weak, but that there is a problem with the strategy of Wang Zhonghe, Yuan Zai, and Xue Bai, intending to directly condemn An Lushan, which is obviously wrong.

To deal with An Lushan, it should be disintegrated step by step, and its rhizomes should be dug up little by little. From the appointment of officials in various counties and counties in Hebei, and from the selection of generals in Fanyang and Pinglu towns, there will be no worries about the removal and replacement of An Lushan.

Yang Guozhong left Huaqing Palace and met Yuan Zai.

"Right phase, this is ...... Failed? ”

"How can you say that it is a failure?" Yang Guozhong smiled and waved his hand, and said, "The sage agreed to my request, but he still has scruples about Zahu, and he wants to send Sun Xiaozhe to Fanyang to test Zahu's reaction." ”

Yuan Zai was stunned for a moment, and somewhat admired Yang Guozhong's mouth, which was worthy of being able to catch Li Linfu's mouthful of phlegm.

Yang Guozhong thought that the sage had not said what to do with Ji Wen, so he just used Ji Wen to kill the chicken and make an example of the monkey, and increase the authority of his right minister.

Although there was a little bit of a difference, the general direction was still according to his plan, getting rid of political enemies one by one, and gradually leading the DPRK program.

"Don't worry, we can do it." Yang Guozhong patted Yuan Zai's shoulder and said.

~~

Xue Bai got the news in the evening of the same day, and heard that Yang Guozhong went to visit Sun Xiaozhe and did not use torture.

He sighed slightly, looked at the sunset in the distance, and said a word to Wang Zhongsi in his heart.

"Your method has failed after all. From now on, I'll do it the same way. ”

Xue Bai admitted this failure.

He also realized more and more clearly that he would never be able to persuade those whom Wang Zhongji could not persuade with his life.

(End of chapter)