Tao River is a tributary of the Yellow River, called "Luqu" in Tubo language, which means the water of the god of Lu, and was called "Luoshui" in ancient times.

In the Mohuan River of the Tao River, a camp rose from the ground and became the garrison of the Shence Army.

It was freezing cold, snow was falling, it was extremely difficult to drive wooden stakes into the ground, and the wind could easily blow the tent over. The soldiers, who were tired all day before they were able to rest in their tents, had to get up and re-erect their tents, but they always slipped on the snow and ice.

This frontier army in the northwest of the garrison has experienced the tempering of wind and frost outside the fortress from the beginning of its establishment.

Ge Shuhan was walking with Cheng Ruxuan in the wind and snow, inspecting the situation in the barracks.

"This year, I have successively established eight new armies in the two counties of Doihe and Taoyang, including Yongbyon, Weisheng, Jintian, Wuning, Yaowu, Tiancheng, Zhenwei, and Shence, do you know why?"

"Without the garrison, our victory over Tibet will be temporary." Cheng Ruxuan said, "The marshal hopes that the border defense will be stable and end the situation of coming and going with Tubo." ”

Ge Shuhan sighed: "I'm old, I'm not in good health, and I can't stay in Biansai for a few years. I really don't want to wait for me to leave, and the land of the Yellow River Jiuqu, which has been regained with great difficulty over the years, will return to the hands of Tibet. ”

"No, it won't." Cheng Ruxuan said: "If the thing that Yan Chengcheng is doing is completed, it can ensure the stability of the border for at least ten years." ”

"If you want to be stable, you can't expect the enemy to mess with you. You must train this army well and become a pillar of the Tang Dynasty. ”

"Rest assured, although there are few soldiers and horses in the Shence Army now, each of the soldiers and generals is personally selected by me, and it will become a brave army."

Ge Shuhan was still satisfied with Cheng Ruxuan's ability to train soldiers, looked at it for a while, and turned back into the account.

A young general immediately stepped forward and said, "Marshal, the official document from Shanzhou has arrived." ”

Ge Shuhan didn't like to dispose of documents, and most of them were handed over to the staff, so he was very interested in recruiting staff, and once hoped to invite Xue Bai and Gao Shi to the Longyou shogunate. Of course, now his staff is not bad, and he has arranged many military affairs very well. As for some personal letters, they need to be seen by Ge Shuhan himself.

He flipped through it and saw Li Guangbi's letter, immediately picked it up, and after reading it carefully, his face gradually deepened.

"Marshal, what's wrong?"

"Everyone stand down and bring another pot of wine."

Ge Shuhan trusted Cheng Ruxuan very much, and when everyone else retreated, he considered and said: "Li Guangbi has arrived in Shuofang, and An Sishun wants to marry his daughter to him. He couldn't resign, so he had to pretend to be sick and resign. ”

"It's really." Cheng Ruxuan suddenly felt amused, and said: "If you don't marry, you won't marry, this little thing, how can it be to the point of pretending to be sick and resigning?" ”

"yes." Ge Shuhan took a sip of wine and asked with a serious face: "How can you make trouble to the point of pretending to be sick and resigning?" ”

A repetitive sentence has taken on a different meaning because of his solemn expression.

Cheng Ruxuan restrained the smile on his face, thought for a while, and said, "What does the handsome mean?" ”

"I have long said that An Sishun seems to be loyal, but in fact he has bad intentions." Ge Shuhan did not hide his disgust, and said: "The An brothers are all traitors and loyalists, and now Li Guangbi has finally seen it. ”

"This ...... It seems arbitrary. ”

Cheng Ruxuan is Ge Shuhan's absolute confidant, but let him be fair, he also feels that Ge Shuhan wronged An Sishun, because the two had a holiday a long time ago, An Sishun connived at the generals to shake Ge Shuhan's prestige, and Ge Shuhan killed An Sishun's generals, so they have always held a grudge against each other.

In this case, just from Li Guangbi's pretending to be sick and resigning to reject An Sishun's marriage, it is more like a grudge planting.

I can't even stand my own people.

"Arbitrary?" Ge Shuhan was very sure and said: "Li Guangbi must have felt threatened, so he pretended to be sick and asked me for help." ”

He made a judgment to himself, pacing, thinking about what to do with the matter. thinks that Li Guangbi must not be allowed to stay in Shuofang, and he should try to rescue him. But he has always had a holiday with An Sishun, and he rashly came forward, but he wanted An Sishun to be vigilant.

Thinking about it, he suddenly thought of a person, so he said, "Bring a pen and paper." ”

Soon, Ge Shuhan wrote a letter, recruited two personal soldiers, and instructed: "You change horses and not people, and use the post stations along the way to send this letter to Chang'an to Xue Bai, a member of the Zhongshu House." ”

"Whoa!"

After taking the letter, the two fast horses quickly disappeared into the wind and snow and galloped towards Chang'an.

~~

Changan.

Due to the failure of recommending Li Guangbi as the deputy envoy of Hedong Jiedu, Xue Bai was very disappointed and had been thinking about other candidates.

He originally paid attention to Wang Sili, the envoy of the Kansai soldiers and horses and the military envoy of Heyuan, but Wang Sili was Ge Shuhan's confidant and favorite general, leaning on his arm, and he was under a lot of military affairs, and Ge Shuhan refused to let go.

Xue Bai also set his sights on another candidate, that is, Gao Xianzhi, who had just been defeated in the Battle of Talas.

Regarding the defeat of Talas, Xue Bai's opinion was a little different from that of others in the DPRK and China, and he did not think that this was a battle that had much impact on the situation, nor did he underestimate Gao Xianzhi's combat talent because of this. Of course, as Wang Zhongsi said a long time ago, Gao Xianzhi's long-term fraud methods have indeed greatly affected his prestige in Anxi, so the northeast border, which is full of fraud, is actually a suitable place for Gao Xianzhi to make a comeback.

But there are some other difficulties, such as Gao Xianzhi's qualifications, it is obviously impossible to have only one deputy envoy of Hedong Jiedu; For example, Gao Xianzhi has not yet returned to Chang'an; For example, how much of a role can be played by going to work alone in a hurry is something to be considered.

Taking the world as a chessboard and taking the name as a chess piece sounds very majestic, but it is not easy to do. At least Xue Bai, a Chinese scholar, is not qualified to be a chess player for the time being, and many times, he drives Yang Guozhong to play chess for him with coaxing.

"Lang Jun, Yang Guozhong has sent someone to summon you again."

There was a knock on the door outside the study, and Xue Bai came back from his contemplation, picked up the file that recorded Gao Xianzhi's resume and got up.

He was going to borrow Yang Guozhong's hand to play chess again.

The weather is getting colder and colder, and charcoal fires are set up in many places in Yang's house, but there is no stove in the lobby, because Yang Guozhong doesn't like to smell smoke, so he added a lot of fat maids for heating, and enthusiastically asked them to surround Xue Bai for warmth.

"There are a lot of people, so let's let them all go down." Xue Bai once again refused this kindness, suspecting that there were too many people and the air was too turbid.

"Eh, you just think they're meat screens, how can the screens reveal our conversations."

"If you don't do things secretly, then there's nothing to talk about."

Yang Guozhong had no choice but to drive everyone out, and put on an extra snow-white mink coat, which looked very graceful and noble, and said: "Eat dog intestines,, I checked, and I really found that Zhang Yan and Chen Xilie, two old animals, teamed up to take my position!" ”

Xue Bai had already guessed that this was the Yang Guozhong he reminded.

He is not Yang Guozhong's advisor, this reminder can be regarded as a gift from him, but he is not responsible for solving the problem, just asking for a return gift.

"What is the relationship between Brother Ah and Gao Xianzhi?"

"Not good." Yang Guozhong replied neatly: "That Gaoli Nu is not easy to get along with. ”

There are many Hu generals in the Tang Dynasty, and Ge Shuhan and Li Guangbi are also Hu generals, but Yang Guozhong will not call them contemptuous. Gao Xianzhi is a noble family of Goguryeo, and his family worked for the Tang Dynasty during the reign of Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty.

Xue Bai and Gao Xianzhi were not familiar with each other, and they could figure out a thing or two from just some of the deeds they had heard. For example, after destroying Xiao Boluguo, he bypassed his boss Fu Meng Lingcha and reported his merits directly, which was a taboo in officialdom, Gao Xianzhi was not only not ashamed, but also took away the post of Fu Meng Lingcha's Four Towns Festival; For example, he didn't get along well with many of his colleagues in the Anxi Army, and scolded Cheng Qianli, the deputy guard, for being a girl; For example, he has no credit, and he deceived his generals, the little king of Bolu, and the king of Shiguo.

Speaking of which, Yang Guozhong also has a very poor character, so if the two of them can get along well, it would be strange.

"That gorino is the same as you and me." It is rare that Yang Guozhong actually praised Gao Xianzhi first, and said, "Do you know where he is the same as us?" ”

"Love to deceive?" Xue Bai replied casually.

"Motivated."

Yang Guozhong snorted coldly and said, "Gao Linu is bent on fame, and he dares to do anything for meritorious service. That's it, but he's not like us who knows how to think about others, he's very arrogant, and he doesn't have anyone in his sights. ”

After that, he complained in a rambling manner, saying that Gao Xianzhi had just destroyed Xiao Bolu Guo and returned to the dynasty to report his work, but he didn't give him a good face when he saw people low; also said that after he paid homage to the prime minister, he asked people to win over Gao Xianzhi, but he was ridiculed.

Xue Bai still put forward his proposition, saying: "Some people are harmless to humans and animals on the surface, but in fact they are wolves and ambitious. Some people are arrogant and unruly on the outside, but they are actually temperamental. At the moment, who is our enemy and who is the ally that can be used, Brother will not be unable to tell the difference. ”

"I just can't tell!" Yang Guozhong said in a rogue tone: "I am also a man of temperament, and there is no reason to support my mortal enemy. ”

Xue Bai said: "An Lushan has promised to return to the court to pay homage to the prime minister, and he is about to leave. Then, regardless of whether the saint wants to remove him from his posts as envoys of Fan Yang and Pinglu Jiedu, on the surface, he is about to leave now, and it is reasonable for Brother Ah to propose a candidate to replace him. ”

"It's not like I haven't thought about it." Yang Guozhong touched his chin and said slowly: "But in this way, wouldn't it be against the sage's intention to leave a mixed hu in Fan Yang's office?" ”

Xue Bai said: "The sage's intentions, General Gao knows, Zhang Yan knows, but he hasn't told you, how can you know?" ”

"What's the use of a good reason for rebellion? If the saints are dissatisfied with me, they don't care about it. ”

I have to say that Yang Guozhong is still very dedicated to serving Li Longji and thinks very thoroughly.

But he also knew that what Xue Bai said made sense, and it was worth taking a risk right now, and he recommended someone to replace Fan Yang and Pinglu Jiedu as envoys.

So, without waiting for Xue Bai to speak again to persuade him, he had already said, "Okay, I will go to the sage according to your wishes." ”

~~

This move was played, and Xue Bai's heart settled down a little.

Out of Yang's house, he stood on the steps and looked at the snowflakes flying in the sky, knowing that after this heavy snowfall, An Lushan might set off for Chang'an, and there would be too many variables in the future.

Therefore, at a time when everyone else is looking forward to the spring flowers, he is the only one who hopes that this cold winter can last longer.

~~

The cold winter weather makes Li Longji even less fond of taking care of the government.

He has been in charge of the Tang Dynasty Society all his life, and when he gets old, he can naturally be wrapped in a warm quilt like spring with peace of mind, whether it is listening to operas or reading stories, in short, it will not be boring.

But even if most of the government affairs are handed over to Yang Guozhong, there are still some state affairs that he, the emperor, cannot avoid.

For example, the moon is about to be completed, and he has to climb the tower of the Danfeng Tower of the Daming Palace to promulgate the next year's season to the people of the world. The seasons are also the monthly seasons, and there are orders at each of the four seasons, which refers to the formulation of government decrees related to agricultural affairs according to the season. In the winter month, the Son of Heaven and the minister and doctor shared the national ceremony, discussing the season, and waiting for the coming year.

This is a major event of the first class of the country.

"Sage, Young Eunuch Si Tian is here."

"Call."

Li Longji has been suffering from a little wind chill recently, mainly due to nasal congestion, heavy head, and drowsiness. At his age, a headache and brain fever may be life-threatening if it is not handled well, and it is also a first-class event.

Not long after, Si Tian Young Eunuch Qu Tan walked into the hall, he was very old, dressed in a simple robe, and his face was a little worried.

"Sage, the old minister has been watching the sky day and night, I am afraid that there will be a big flood in Guanzhong in the coming year."

Li Longji frowned when he heard this.

A few years ago, there was a drought in various provinces, and in the year he was assassinated in Lishan, he personally begged for rain. Flooding after a long drought is the most annoying thing.

After listening to Qu Tan's slow speech for a while, Li Longji finally spoke and asked, "In the coming year, how do you know that there will be a big flood in the coming year?" ”

"The old minister has nothing but astronomy...... Ahem, cough, cough. Qu Tan said, and suddenly coughed a few times.

Li Longji's already frowning brows tightened even more.

When Gao Lishi saw it, he understood that the saint was worried that his vitality would be stained by Qu Tan, so he hurriedly said: "Young Eunuch Qu, you have dedicated the season, and go and rest." ”

"The old minister obeys."

Qu Tan retreated, and a eunuch came to report, and Yang Guozhong asked to see him.

Li Longji was tired today and originally didn't want to see his courtiers again, but thinking that Yang Guozhong was strong and maybe full of vitality, he still ordered to summon him. thought to himself, anyway, Yang Guozhong was the most considerate, so he wouldn't run to say something that bothered him.

Really.

"The minister sighed one after another when he saw Qu Tan leaving, I wonder if it was because the minister had not handled the state affairs?"

"He watched the sky at night and thought there would be a big flood in the coming year."

Yang Guozhong said: "Qu Tan? The saint does not need to worry, he is never allowed to tell fortunes. ”

"Not allowed?" Li Longji became interested and asked, "How can you not be allowed?" ”

"As far as the minister knows, Qu Tan once privately took the pulse of happiness for the families of officials in the DPRK and China. gave birth to a boy and a girl, and he pinched his fingers and counted those who were right and wrong, half of each. ”

Colliers asked: "In this way, what he said about the flood was also a false alarm?" ”

Yang Guozhong said firmly: "This kind of trick, the minister has seen a lot in the market. It's nothing more than catching people and saying that there is a bloody disaster, and then giving a way to resolve it, if it is safe and sound, it is his credit, if it really happens, it is not enough money to give him, and it cannot be completely resolved. ”

"Hahaha."

Li Longji laughed a few times, thinking that he had not mistaken Yang Guozhong.

However, without saying a word, Yang Guozhong went against his mind.

"The minister thinks that since An Lushan is willing to return to the state affairs of Pingzhang, the candidate to replace the envoy of the second town should also be prepared."

"Ahem, ahem."

Gao Lishi hurriedly said: "Right Minister, the saint occasionally feels unwell today, can we talk about this matter in the future?" ”

Yang Guozhong did not immediately accuse. He stood there, thinking about what Xue Bai said, "The sage's intentions, General Gao knows, Zhang Yan knows", his eyes flickered slightly, and he asked in a low voice.

"The minister has the courage to ask if the Holy Will will return An Lushan to Fan Yang, and add his left servant to shoot?"

Li Longji's sleepy eyes suddenly flashed, and he first glanced at Gao Lishi, only to see Gao Lishi's face surprised, obviously shocked by how Yang Guozhong could spit out such a sentence, and even the official position of Zuo Lishi was clear.

"How did you find out?" Li Longji did not deny it, but asked calmly.

"Minister......

Yang Guozhong hesitated for a moment, gritted his teeth, and responded: "Zhang Yan told the minister." ”

Li Longji had been lying there all the time, but when he heard this, he immediately sat up and asked, "Why did Zhang Yan tell you?" ”

"He relieved the minister, saying that An Lushan would return to Fanyang as long as he added the title of left servant, and let the minister just do nothing......"

Yang Guozhong is very good at slander, and when it came to his mouth, Zhang Yan was quickly described as a scheming villain.

And he knows very well what the sage is most taboo about, and deliberately blends Zhang Yan with the characteristics of his father Zhang Shuo in his words.

"Zhang Yan also said that I was mistaken, not as others said, An Lushan is his 'backer', he is An Lushan's backer."

In a word, Li Longji immediately thought of Zhang Shuo's "power of Mount Tai" back then, and a wave of anger involuntarily erected.

He was wise, but he didn't realize that in his old age, he could let Yang Guozhong, a fool who didn't know how to learn and know, accurately grasp his emotions, and he also thought that he appointed Yang Guozhong because of his loyalty and simplicity.

The minister didn't believe Zhang Yan very much, and suspected that he was lying to the minister. At that time, An Lushan returned to worship the prime minister, and there was no candidate for the envoy of Fanyang and Pinglu in the two towns, which was the dereliction of duty of the minister, so it was ...... today."

"Tell the word." Li Longji suddenly spoke, interrupting his chatter, "Give me Zhang Yan to demote him from Chang'an." ”

Colliers was a little surprised, feeling that the saint had lost his patience when he was old.

In the past, Li Linfu also framed his colleagues, but after concocting evidence and completing a big case, he was sentenced to a felony of exile or beheading, and then changed from a sage to a light sentence. But now it is Yang Guozhong who has demoted the country's important ministers out of the capital with a few words.

It can be seen that it is not only the temperament of the saint that determines the choice of prime minister, but in turn, Yang Guozhong's impetuousness is also affecting the temperament of the saint.

"Not only will Zhang Yan be degraded, but also their brothers will be demoted together!" Li Longji added.

"Yes."

Yang Guozhong was ecstatic in his heart, but he didn't show it immediately, and his face showed surprise that things would make such a big fuss.

After receiving the Zhongzhi, he immediately went to Zhongshumen Province in person.

~~

On the morning of this day, Xue Bai heard that Yang Guozhong had entered the court, and he had already arrived at Zhongshumen to wait, holding the hope of what happened, and preparing to make Gao Xianzhi temporarily replace Fan Yang and Pinglu Jiedu envoys.

If he can do this, it will not be in vain for him to serve as a scholar.

In winter, the agriculture is idle, and there are few state affairs and military affairs, which is the most idle period of the year in Zhongshumen Province. Some officials moved tables and chairs, and enjoyed the snow and chess with Chen Xilie under the corridor.

Xue Bai was interested in Chen Xilie, so he stood behind him and watched, realizing that he was very good at chess, especially good at concealing his true purpose, one son here, one son there, and finally one piece.

However, before Chen Xilie could win this game, an official rushed over and said, "The right minister is here." ”

Xue Bai was condescending, and he could see that the corners of his mouth were slightly pursed, and he had a rather contemptuous expression, obviously looking down on the spittle.

Spit pot became the prime minister, who can be convinced? Who wouldn't want to replace that?

Soon, Yang Guozhong Shi Shi entered the official house, and in the face of Chen Xilie's pretended salute, he didn't pay attention to it at all, and even patted his old face with Zhongzhi.

This was a very rude action, Chen Xilie was stunned for a moment, blew his beard and glared, ready to have a serious fight with Yang Guozhong.

However, before he could speak, Yang Guozhong had already said arrogantly: "Look at this!" ”

The edict was expanded, and the content was not much, only three columns, and the rest of the content needed to be written when the Chinese scholar made the edict.

Chen Xilie squinted and saw that it was "Zhang Yan moved to Luxi Sima; Zhang Junqian was the Taishou of Jian'an; Zhang Jiao moved to Yichun Sima".

"This!"

This surprise is not trivial for Chen Xilie.

He knew how much the sage liked Zhang Yan before, and he always called him "beloved son-in-law", Xu Zhang Yan set up an inner house in the imperial city, and often rewarded treasures, jokingly saying that this was given to his son-in-law by his father-in-law, not by the Son of Heaven to his subordinates.

It's this kind of kindness, and it's so kind of affection when you turn your face?

On second thought, a saint is a person who can kill even his own son, so what is the meaning of it? At that time, it was just fun with Zhang Yan.

Thinking of this, the cold sweat under Chen Xilie's armpits kept flowing, and the hand holding the Zhongzhi was trembling slightly.

"What are you shaking?!"

Yang Guozhong scolded and laughed proudly.

He was reminded by Xue Bai, but he did not deal with military affairs according to Xue Bai's suggestion, but applied his thinking to eliminate dissidents, and he really had a big gain. disobeyed the Sacred Heart, but put the blame on Zhang Yan.

And the next step is to use Zhang Yan's big crime to scare Chen Xilie, who is as timid as a mouse.

"Still shaking? What are you afraid of if you didn't conspire with Zhang Yan? Or are you colluding? ”

"I didn't ...... No. ”

Chen Xilie didn't even know why Zhang Yan was demoted, but he only saw that these three brothers were demoted at the same time, thinking that it was a big case with conclusive evidence like Li Linfu's deal with Wei Jian back then. He did cooperate with Zhang Yan, and he was very weak.

"No?" Yang Guozhong sneered and said, "I'll ask you today, Zhang Yan will recruit you in the future, but someone else will judge you." ”

"Right ......"

"What are you still doing? Let's make an edict. ”

Chen Xilie also wanted to pretend to be light and light, but his timid character traits were undoubtedly exposed at this moment. Turning his head and glancing at Xue Bai, he handed over the decree and said, "According to the instructions of the right minister, the edict will be made." ”

Xue Bai couldn't help but sigh.

He lamented that there were all these mediocre and incompetent people left in this temple.

Chen Xilie heard this sigh, thinking that Xue Bai was taking pity on him, he was like a camel that had been crushed by the last straw, he could no longer hold his guard, turned to Yang Guozhong, and couldn't wait to soften.

"Right Minister, how about my resignation?!"

"Huh?"

Although Yang Guozhong wanted to scare Chen Xilie, he didn't expect to defeat him so easily.

"I resign, I'm old, I can't afford state affairs, I implore the right minister to recommend a strong person to replace the left minister, I want to resign today."

“……”

This left minister has been low and small for more than ten years, and he has endured the strong Li Linfu, as if he is the king of Yue Goujian, who is lying on his salary and trying his courage, waiting for the day when he will dominate the world and apply for his ambitions. But in the end, he lost to Yang Guozhong, who didn't learn and didn't know how to do it, and he was not even as good as a spittle.

How can he have any salary? Cowardice is cowardice.

(End of chapter)