The horse's hoofs stirred the mud and stopped at the gate of the city.
Qi Zhuyin had a cape hanging between his arms, carrying a gloomy sky on his back, and looked at the towering city walls of Qidu. At this moment, it was not yet dawn, and the young generals of the eight major battalions stationed on the city wall saw the flag of Qidong, and immediately stretched their voices and shouted: "Open the door, welcome the commander!"
Several city soldiers shouted their horns and pulled the door, Jituo made a muffled sound, and the mottled city gate slowly rose. The soldiers of the eight major battalions inside the city gate stood on both sides in awe, and bowed their swords to Qi Zhuyin at the gate.
Qi Zhuyin raised her arms, and the Qidong cavalry behind her retreated neatly, leaving a considerable distance from her. She shook the reins and took Hua Xiangyi's carriage on the official road in Qudu.
The soldiers on both sides stood solemnly, not looking sideways.
Qi Zhuyin is wearing court clothes today. Although she has not been awarded a title, she is qualified to wear a marquis court clothes because of the empress dowager's kiss. The court dress is made of crimson, and the embroidery of the patch is a white lustre that surpasses the grade. The hair room changed the beam crown of the men's clothes and wore five beads, which swayed in the air as the horses moved.
In front of the official road was the court official who greeted him, and on the side stood Han Cheng, the commander of Jinyiwei, and Fuman, the inner supervisor.
After a brief chat between the two parties, they were about to lead Qi Zhuyin into the palace.
The streets were clear, no one was making noise, and all the places were so silent that only the chirping of the solitary birds could be heard. Han Cheng mounted his horse to accompany Qi Zhuyin, and said with a smile, "Bianjun won a victory, and the commander worked hard and made a lot of work. If you enter the capital this time, there will be a reward from the sky."
Although these words are genial, they stand on Qi Zhuyin's pain point. She has not been awarded the title of marquis for several times. Now Libei rebels, Qi Zhuyin and Qidong's garrison are rising, and they have become the empress dowager's support outside. She took the opportunity to remove the eunuchs of the supervisory army and became a thorn in the southeast who could threaten Yedu to make concessions, which had already made the queen mother dissatisfied. At this moment, it is close to the Biansha war. The title of title is the chain that the Queen Mother can check and balance Qi Zhuyin.
Qi Zhuyin didn't deal with Han Cheng, and it was unpleasant several times before, but now she has a false relationship with Han Cheng, and said, "Let's use the commander to make Ji Yan."
The two circled around the horse, and when they reached the gate of the palace, Fu Man, who followed him all the way, quickly got off the horse and came to take Qi Zhuyin's reins in person. After Emperor Tianchen's death, Dongchang fell into disrepair, and there was no eunuch in the twenty-four yamen who could call the wind and call the rain like Pan Rugui.
Qi Zhuyin didn't like the eunuch, and Shuangxi, who was sent by the imperial court to supervise the army, is still locked in a cell in Cang County. In order not to dislike Qi Zhuyin, Fuman dressed up specially. He wore a gourd Jingbuzi inside, a coral duo needle on his head, a mask on the outside, and black boots on his feet. He only dared to lean on the plain.
Fuman bowed and took the reins to Qi Zhuyin, smiling all over his face: "This is our Da Zhou's 'sweat horse', and the slaves will ensure that you will feed the commander."
Qi Zhuyin nodded, looked back at the carriage, and stood in front waiting for Hua Xiangyi.
Han Cheng threw the whip to the inner eunuch next to him, snorted softly, pointed at Fu Man and smiled, "You old thief, you will be rewarded when you see the commander, so slap it vigorously."
Fuman understood Han Cheng's temperament, and immediately said: "The commander is a shy slave!" He leaned closer and flattered Han Cheng, "The slaves always rely on the commander, you see, when will you be able to complete the slaves? wish?"
"You're the same age as me, call me Grandpa," Han Cheng said, "I'm ashamed to say it."
Day you mother!
Fu is full of slander, this dog is taking Qiao all day long, talking about it with embarrassment, isn't it when the person who can be called is being a grandson? God has eyes, and it's really heartwarming that he didn't tell him to give birth to a son.
Fuman caressed his chest and said with a laugh, "When the old ancestors were still there, slaves were sons, and they were ranked according to seniority. Can't I call you grandpa?"
Han Cheng despised these gags, but he was happy to treat them like dogs. The inner eunuchs were ancestors in the late Yongyinian period. At that time, Pan Rugui led the Dongchang factory to suppress Jinyiwei. Han Cheng was not yet a commander. He was envious of Ji Lei's recognition of Pan Rugui as his father. Bowing and bowing in front of myself, my heart is naturally happy.
Fuman went to the Neishutang and was literate. During Emperor Tianchen's time, he joined forces with Xiao Chiye inside and outside, and became the supervisor of ceremonies. Later, Emperor Tianchen was assassinated by Mu Ru, and he immediately turned his back. Following Han Cheng's command, he summoned Xiao Chiye into the palace with a scroll of imperial decree, and Han Cheng framed Xiao Chiye for murdering the monarch. For this credit, Han Cheng was willing to continue to let him take care of the important affairs of the Inner Dynasty. Anyway, if Fengquan went down, Fuman would be able to become the ancestor after another qualification.
Seeing that Hua Xiangyi hadn't come down yet, Han Cheng asked Fuman casually, "How is the prince recently?"
Han Cheng made a bad move in the imperial prison and did not kill Li Jianting, which made his support of Han Jiazi's enthronement void.
With a sideways motion, Fu Man replied in a low voice, "Everything is as usual."
"Xue Yanqing has been working on the land tax in Zhadan City recently, which has caused chaos in the courtroom," Han Cheng looked at Fu Man, "The Queen Mother has been worrying all night because of this, and her body is unwell. You should remind the prince and let Xue Yan Qing, calm down."
Fu Man was stunned for a moment, then nodded in response.
The point of this sentence is to make Xue Xiuzhuo "calm". As for what method to use, it is up to Fuman to figure it out.
Li Jianting was already quite young, but the Queen Mother had no intention of returning to the crown prince. She sat in the position of acting as the emperor and expelled Li Jianting from the court. Li Jianting's right to observe was all proposed by the official. Now Xue Xiuzhuo is under pressure from the foreign court again, the queen mother wants to teach Xue Xiuzhuo a lesson.
Fuman's heart skipped a beat, he didn't dare to show any signs, and kept bowing until Han Cheng left.
* * *
The eaves were dripping, the windows were damp, and the old books on the table were wrinkled. Yao Wenyu grabbed his wide sleeves and opened the pages of the book.
In March, the snow and ice melted, and Duanzhou suddenly warmed up, with tides everywhere. Shen Zechuan stood at the table, casually looking at Yao Wenyu's old books.
"Xue Yanqing has to discuss the military rations with the commander," Yao Wenyu smoothed the wrinkled corners with his fingertips, "Last year, only Bian County fought in Qidong. The military rations at that time were supplied by Qidu, and the military colonies in the other four counties were not damaged. Xue Yanqing There is a ledger in my heart, and it will not be easily bypassed by the Queen Mother."
"It's easy for him to be stumped," Shen Zechuan didn't raise his eyes, as if pondering the contents of the book, "The details of Qidong's harvest haven't been reported yet, it's not enough for the commander to kill him, and he can't force it."
The longer Yao Wenyu stayed by Shen Zechuan's side, the more he felt that it was easy to distinguish between the mood and anger of the ruler. For example, now, Shen Zechuan was just joking, and this kind of cheating method could not deceive Xue Xiuzhuo, who was good at auditing accounts.
Yao Wenyu was not in a hurry, but asked, "According to the opinion of the government, what should Xue Yanqing talk about with the commander?"
"Naturally it's his biggest card," Shen Zechuan said without hesitation, "he holds the prince in his hand, and at some point he stands taller than the queen mother. Qi Du pays attention to the ethics of general principles. Acting on behalf of the emperor, not the real emperor."
The queen mother relied on Qidong, but married Hua Xiangyi, and then pressed Qi Zhuyin not to promote her. At the same time, in order to please Qi Zhuyin, she was very generous to Qi Zhuyin as far as she could. Last year, Qi Zhuyin was very generous to Qi Zhuyin for both Double Happiness and Lu Pingyan. All orders turned a blind eye, and the queen mother still endured it without accountability. This is to maintain the level of the two sides, always press Qidong under his own hands, so that Qi Zhuyin can use it for himself, and is subject to Wujue not being able to turn against him.
But Li Jianting didn't have this concern. She is the current prince of Da Zhou. She has the guidance of the cabinet, the reputation of the students, and the full support of the practical faction headed by Xue Xiuzhuo. Impeachment, sealing Qi Zhuyin is a matter of one sentence, and this is precisely what the empress dowager in an embarrassing position cannot do.
Shen Zechuan closed the book and said: "If the commander is not sealed, Qidong's military power will be unstable for a day. Without a rank, Qi Zhuyin cannot be attributed to the 'orthodox'. Just imagine if she died in battle, or was wounded and dismounted, The brothers in the family can take this opportunity to seize the title of Qi Shiyu. The military commander of the five counties listens to the prestige, but if there is no title, she is only a temporary guest in that position and cannot inherit everything behind Qi Shiyu. The queen mother is afraid that Qidong will be the second One is from the north, so I dare not seal it, and this 'don't dare' is the Queen Mother's biggest weakness."
What does Li Jianting lack most now
It's military power.
The family damaged Wei Huaigu, and fell behind in the matter of Hai Liangyi's death advice. The queen mother was able to sit on an equal footing with the cabinet and Xue Xiuzhuo in the game because she held the two remaining military powers of Da Zhou with both hands. Whether it was Kong Qiu or Xue Xiuzhuo, they were both civil servants, and they only had the power to discuss the military, but did not have the power to mobilize troops.
If Xue Xiuzhuo gave Qi Zhuyin the promise of being a marquis at this moment, then Qi Zhuyin could switch to the prince's command and give up dealing with the queen mother. Qidong soldiers and horses also naturally surrendered to Li Jianting, which was the removal of one of the Queen Mother's arms.
"It's easy to do things with money," Yao Wenyu said after taking the book returned by Shen Zechuan, "If Xue Yanqing didn't have the Xi family's treasury, he would definitely not be able to convince the commander just by his verbal promises, but he paid for the Qidong army, and the commander would have to think twice. "
The above assumptions are all based on the fact that Qidong’s military colony is truly self-sufficient and does not have to be recruited from the Juexi granary. However, Qidong’s military ration this year is actually in the hands of Shen Zechuan. Qi Zhuyin must take into account Zhongbo, and she has to weigh it carefully. If Shen Zechuan was dissatisfied with her transfer to Prince Chu, then the Yan family could cut off Qidong's military rations, Qi Zhuyin still had to ask Qi for food, and Xue Xiuzhuo had to return to the original predicament.
"Xue Xiuzhuo, Hua Heni," Shen Zechuan gently threw Yao Wenyu's waste pen into the pen holder and laughed, "Who am I playing with."
Shen Zechuan's wrist bones were dipped in sunlight, and he held an invisible thread in his hand, which was able to silently advance the situation in Qudu.
Yao Wenyu straightened the pen and said firmly, "The mansion has made arrangements."
* * *
Before dawn, the palace eaves were waiting under the eaves of the palace, and they all avoided their bodies, carried lanterns, and silently followed the road. Qi Zhuyin had to go to the Mingli Hall to visit the palace, while Hua Xiangyi had to wait in the Queen Mother's palace, and the two could only walk a short distance together.
Hua Xiangyi was wearing a lying rabbit on her forehead because she was afraid of the cold. Her manner was really good, she didn't hear the sound of the ring while walking, and she was just a little shorter when she stood beside Qi Zhuyin.
Qi Zhuyin stayed in Bianjun all day long in Qidong, and had not spoken a few words to Hua Xiangyi so far. She felt a little dull at the moment, and was about to speak.
Hua Xiangyi said, "Have you seen the account book at home?"
Only then did Qi Zhuyin remember what happened last time, and said, "Looking back at home, I have to work..." She got stuck on the word "mother" for a while, and she couldn't say anything to Hua Xiangyi's face, who was two years younger than her. Able to skip ahead hastily and say, "... it's over."
Hua Xiangyi covered Tang Po, watching the crow swipe across the gloomy sky and disappear into the eaves of the palace in a blink of an eye. This is a scene she is familiar with. She said: "The handsome is polite."
Qi Zhuyin's Yuguang glanced at Hua Xiangyi's collar with broken branches and small sunflowers embroidered, as if it was a delicate and charming hidden under the dignified, which was out of tune with this deep palace, so it looked particularly beautiful and lovely.
Hua Xiangyi suddenly tilted her head and looked at Qi Zhuyin. After just a moment, she looked away and said softly, "My aunt has summoned the commander, firstly, to send troops to the Rat Department, and secondly, to collect rations, these two matters can be combined. For one, the commander has to make a choice."
Qi Zhuyin couldn't figure out what Hua Xiangyi's intention was when she told herself these things. She was used by the Queen Mother as a knife to coerce Xue Xiuzhuo and the cabinet. She had already heard about the Dancheng land tax.
However, Hua Xiangyi changed her words and said, "It is always windy all the year round, and standing upstairs can't see the glory in front of the stairs. It's so cold, many shops on Shenwu Street are closed, and everyone who gets drunk at night is on an empty stomach. people."
Qi Zhuyin was slightly startled and looked at Hua Xiangyi. Hua Xiangyi had already stopped, turned to the silent Fuman behind and smiled, "It looks like a male and female cat."
Fuman himself was in a state of confusion, and he vaguely heard something about "cold weather", but he didn't take it to heart. When he saw Hua Xiangyi standing in front of him, he felt that the third young lady's expression was absolutely unstoppable, so he took the lantern and smiled apologetically: "This slave does not dare to make a noise for fear of scaring the madam and the handsome Yaxing."
"Since we're here," Hua Xiangyi whispered to Qi Zhuyin, "Master, let's go first."
* * *
The newly planted flowers and trees on the side of the steps of Mingli Hall were hung with a thin frost, the front of the hall was empty, and the floor was polished brightly. After the name was announced in the hall, the eunuch led Qi Zhuyin up the stairs. She stepped on the steps and felt cold under her feet, a feeling she couldn't get used to no matter how many times.
The hall curtains were opened to the sides, and Qi Zhuyin stepped in.
The courtiers waiting inside all stood up, and Qi Zhuyin saluted the Queen Mother without looking at anyone. The empress dowager didn't put the bead curtains down, and said with a smile: "Aijia and Zhuyin have not seen each other for two months, so I feel very sad. The county is bitter and cold over there, get up and Rong Aijia take a closer look."
Qi Zhuyin raised her head, and out of the corner of the eye, she saw the prince standing beside him.
The Minister of War, Chen Zhen, stood with his sleeves tucked away, looking at Qi Zhuyin with a worried look. Cen Yu's face was not very good-looking, only Kong Qiu was still as usual. The atmosphere in this hall is strange, like the newly planted flowers and trees outside, which seem to be connected with each other, but in fact it is empty, and its roots have long been frozen.
The Empress Dowager had the winning ticket in her hands, so she did not rush into the topic, and after a long exchange of greetings with Qi Zhuyin, she said, "You are always stationed at the border, and you go in the wind and rain. The Aijia heard that you don't even want a maid, you are not considerate by your side, and your body is iron I can't bear to be like this." She didn't wait for Qi Zhuyin to answer, she turned to Helianhou and said, "Look at it."
Helianhou met the Queen Mother's gaze and said with emotion: "When I saw the commander, I thought of Fei Shi, who was not a weapon. Although he was a man, he didn't know Ling Yunzhi, which made the minister worry about Haosheng."
"Fei Shi has just reached the crown. Someone must be on the side to guide him, otherwise the good boy will be spoiled." The queen mother looked at Qi Zhuyin again, "Zhuyin, do you still remember your brother Fei?"
Qi Zhuyin said, "What I vaguely remember is Zhaoyue's younger brother."
She seemed to be used to being straight and answering casually, but Zhaoyue County Master had to call her sister.
But the queen mother said: "Fei Shi is young, and there is no one to teach you. You are the military commander of Qidong. He admires him very much. He talks about Sister Qi all day long, and wants to run to Qidong. You and Zhaoyue are good, the two families. I’m not a stranger either, if I have time in the past few days, I can also tell him anecdotes about the border, which can be regarded as fulfilling his thoughts.”
Fei Shi has already reached the crown, what can't be done, ask her Qi Zhuyin to follow behind to teach? Besides, Fei Shi was only a young marquis, he had not yet inherited the title of Marquis Helian, and he had no official position. Standing in front of Qi Zhuyin was not a bit short, and calling her sister would be a mess.
The empress dowager clearly meant that she wanted to press Qi Zhuyin to point Fei Shi to her. Qi Zhuyin couldn't turn her back on the military pay. She said, "The Queen Mother told me that I shouldn't have refused, but this time entering the capital is really a military affair, and the border affairs are urgent, so it should not be delayed any longer."
The empress dowager sat back for a while, but instead of embarrassing her, she said: "This is natural. Last month, the military newspaper reported the attack of the Green Rat. If you won, you should be rewarded."
Qi Zhuyin had a clear idea of the pickling of Qie Du. The Queen Mother gave her Fei Shi at this juncture, but she wanted her to be honest while attacking Xue Xiuzhuo. The rations are a problem - if she doesn't have Shen Zechuan's supplies.
Qi Zhuyin suddenly remembered Hua Xiangyi's words just now.
Qidu is windy.
What is Hua Xiangyi implying to her
"You showed it to the Zhezi Aijia of the Ministry of War, and you want to pursue the victory while you are victorious. That's right, but now is not the time." The Queen Mother couldn't get Qi Zhuyin's compromise, so she said, "March coincides with spring ploughing, and Qidong is going to fight. The military colony will have to be vacant, and the food after the autumn will inevitably be reduced, and it will have to be transferred from other granaries, but it can no longer be replenished now, and the people of Juexi also have to eat. The imperial court also has its difficulties. It is the people who suffer."
The Empress Dowager kept her mouth shut and did not mention the eight cities granary. It was left to Qi Zhuyin to mention it herself. As long as she brought it up, the issue could be kicked to Xue Xiuzhuo. At that time, everyone was deadlocked and still had to listen to the Empress Dowager's dispatch. If Xue Xiuzhuo didn't wave his hand and Qi Zhuyin didn't get married, then Qidong wouldn't be able to send troops or get food.
In the hall, a needle could be heard suddenly falling, and no one on the left or right made a sound. Qi Zhuyin thought about Hua Xiangyi's words upside down in the middle.
"At the beginning of the year, the Ministry of Households reported the harvest situation in various places," Li Jianting, who had never interjected at Mingli Hall, said coldly, "Juexi can't afford it, so we can combine the granaries of the other states to make up for the gap."
The queen mother said: "The prince doesn't pay attention to the affairs of the court, and he doesn't understand the way. Last year, Hezhou had a turn. This year, he will supply the granary with Juexi again. It's difficult to do it everywhere."
During their conversation, they avoided the Eight Great Cities in unison, and Qi Zhuyin suddenly had a flash of inspiration.
Eight major cities surround the capital, isn't it the "prosperity before the steps" of the capital? Hua Xiangyi said that she could not see clearly, what could she not see clearly? I can't see the details of the harvest in the eight cities! Since the land tax in Dancheng can be made into false accounts, how much of the land tax in the other cities is true? The fields have not been measured and understood, and there are many things that can be concealed in the meantime. Hua Xiangyi's last sentence was about people on an empty stomach. Last year, there were countless refugees in Dancheng, all of whom ran hungry. Pan Yi knew that he couldn't hide it, so why didn't he immediately set up a shed to cook porridge
In just a few short moments, Qi Zhuyin sweated down her temples, and secretly said that it was dangerous!
* * *
The rattan chair swayed slightly, and the snow-white sleeves were draped on his knees. Shen Zechuan opened the folding fan to block some sunlight. Yao Wenyu was still packing up old books at the table, and the courtyard was very quiet.
Shen Zechuan swayed and looked at the mottled plum leaves above his head. The light fell on him in small pieces. He caught it with the folding fan and placed it in front of his eyes for details.
Yao Wenyu turned to a stack of cases from an old book. He opened it and saw that it was the earliest grain record book in Chazhou. He had seen it before, but now he turned to the back, turned the four-wheeled vehicle, and said to Shen Zechuan at the door: "In the past years, the high-priced food in Chazhou was Hezhou food, but Hezhou still paid for it last year. The military rations and the granary in Qidu, I think this book is full of large goods. If Yan Heru still has to pay for the rations of the Luoshan bandits, even if Hezhou has a bumper harvest every year..." He slowly flattened out the pamphlet, " Time to empty it."
"I originally suspected that Yan Heru was selling the grain he stole from Juexi and Hezhou, but when Fanzhou's account came out, I found that there was no more grain left in the granary in these two places to do business for him."
"Last year, Liang Luoshan began to take charge of the taxation of Juexi and Hezhou. Yan Heru said last time that he failed to establish a relationship with Liang Luoshan," Yao Wenyu held the door frame, his expression changed slightly, "Then where did the food he sold last year come from? come?"
Shen Zechuan tilted his head and looked at Yao Wenyu for a moment.
"Bacheng Granary, the grain that Yan Heru sold to the Central Bo prefectures last year all flowed out of the Bacheng." Yao Wenyu quickly turned over the pamphlet on his knees, "The high-priced grains from Fan and Deng prefectures are all resold by Cai Yu's hands. , Fu Jun killed Cai Yu, but Yan Heru didn't tell the truth."
The folding fan in Shen Zechuan's palm suddenly closed, and he was still leaning back, staring at the sunlight. At that moment, he was empowered and said, "The Queen Mother has no reserves to afford Qidong's military rations. She is painting cakes in the air."
This step of cheating completely caught Xue Xiuzhuo. Bacheng's account was so bad that even Pan Lin might not know which ones were true or false. Xue Xiuzhuo's Dancheng Tian was indeed wrong, and the details of the harvest that Pan Yi first handed to the Ministry of Housing were also false, but the food surplus submitted by the family was true. They plundered the people's fields but had no food, because the food had been secretly transferred to Yan Heru for resale.
The Eight Cities granaries were simply empty.
"Hua Hemu..." Shen Zechuan laughed out loud, and had to sigh with emotion, "The queen mother is amazing!"
If Xue Xiuzhuo was forced to requisition military rations, stopped checking Danchengtian, and stepped back to show his favor to the Queen Mother, then when he really did all this, he would find that the Queen Mother had no food at all, and Qidong still could not send troops. At that time, Xue Xiuzhuo will not only lose his existing advantages, but also bear the risk of Taixue's rebellion, and will even face doubts from the practical faction.
Hua Heni is not a courtier.
She has her own game in this group of wily men.