Ge Qingqing took the night to buy steamed buns at the steamed bun shop that Zhaosin Temple must pass through. Standing in front of the shop, he pushed a few copper plates in his palm and said, "Old man, give me two buns."
The old man at Baozipu has bad eyes and is blind. He turned his head slightly, as if trying to listen to Ge Qingqing. After Ge Qingqing finished speaking, he lifted the cover, wrapped the last two buns with oil paper, and handed them over.
"Thank you." Ge Qingqing said.
The old man said in a hoarse voice, "I don't need money to send an old customer."
Ge Qingqing was stunned for a moment when he was putting out the money, he raised his eyes suddenly and stared at the other party. Most of the lanterns on the street were extinguished, and only a half-dead lantern hung not far away, illuminating the silhouette of Baozipu obliquely.
Ge Qingqing used to be in Qidu, and all his colleagues love to buy buns here, not because the buns here are delicious, but because it can go directly to Zhaosin Temple. He has a short stubble now and is no longer as handsome as he was a few years ago. The most different thing is his temperament, which is no different from an ordinary businessman, but this blind old man can recognize who he is.
"Remember me?" Ge Qingqing asked casually.
The old man was holding the steamed bun cage and shaking it, he was still a lame man. He put the cages in place, dragged them out of the water basin under the table, and threw the dirty dishes and chopsticks in, saying, "I came here yesterday."
Ge Qingqing took a bite of the bun and said, "I admit the wrong person."
The old man washed the dishes and didn't answer. Ge Qingqing just stood here and finished eating the steamed buns, took out the handkerchief to wipe his hands, and walked away while wiping. There was a smell of fat powder in the wind, blowing the residual lamp "squeak" lightly. When Ge Qingqing's figure entered the darkness, he turned around and threw the copper plate in his palm, the copper plate fell crisply on the greasy tabletop, he put the veil back, and left like this.
The old man was washing the dishes alone, and when it was almost dawn, he put the tableware and chopsticks in order. The hawker selling vegetables with a wheelbarrow next to him greeted him and shouted, "Uncle Cheng, did you open a shop so early?"
The old man tore off the towel on his shoulders, wiped the sweat, and said, "Don't do it."
"Don't do it?" The hawker got out of the car, leaned on the edge of the table, and asked, "Why don't you do it?"
The old man threw the towel on the table, without touching the money left by Ge Qingqing, and looked at the end of the street: "There is other work."
* * *
Li Jianting took a nap, the book in her hand slipped to her knees, and her shoulders suddenly sank. She immediately woke up, opened Fuman's hand, and shouted, "Presumptuous!"
Fuman knelt down with the blanket, raised his hand to give himself a mouth, and said, "I disturb the emperor's rest, the slave should be beaten! It should be beaten!"
Li Jianting saw that it was Fuman, and raised his head slightly, relieved.
After Fuman beat himself, he peeked at Li Jianting and said, "There is an ice basin in this hall, which is very cold. If the emperor is tired, the servants will help you to take a nap inside."
Without waiting for Li Jianting to make a sound, he decided to stand up and help people.
"Kneel down!" Li Jianting bit the word.
Fu Man hurriedly knelt down, held the blanket, and said aggrieved: "Your Majesty, your Majesty calm down, this servant is just in a hurry, and the servant loves the emperor's dragon body."
When Li Jianting heard Fuman's voice, he thought of a man. She wanted to get the book from her lap, but found her hands shaking.
Fu Man walked forward on his knees and said in a pleasing manner, "The emperor must not be angry with himself because of slaves and servants, and the dragon's body is the most important."
Li Jianting packed up his mind and restrained his facial expression so that he would not stand up and retreat. She squeezed the book tightly, her expression softened a little, and said to Fuman kindly, "The nightmare was overwhelmed, and I didn't wake up just now, it scared you, get up quickly."
Seeing that Li Jianting's expression was normal, Fuman felt relieved, stood up and said, "It's cold here, next time the emperor is tired, just call the servants."
"The teacher will come later." Li Jianting threw the book aside before Fuman approached, "Why didn't you wait in the office?"
Fu Man Man's heart was all about promotion and making a fortune. He didn't notice Li Jianting's actions and bowed to congratulate him: "This servant is here to tell the emperor good news!"
Li Jianting said, "Have Juexi's grain book arrived?"
"That's not it yet, the post station said it's already on the way, it's only a day or two left." Fu Man said, "Slave, I want to tell the emperor that the Neicang side will settle monthly accounts and earn 80,000 taels of silver for the emperor. Woolen cloth."
Li Jianting didn't think it was this, she said unexpectedly: "...Isn't Uikura Dianshou newly appointed?"
"Yes, Your Majesty, it was recommended by the servants," Fu Man raised his eyebrows with joy, "Lord Xue Xiuyi, who served in the original household department."
Xue Xiuzhuo's eldest brother, Li Jianting's eyes sank slightly.
"Lord Xue was really a subdued talent in the past!" Fu Man said, "Not only did he just take office, he knew how to increase revenue and reduce expenditure for the imperial court, and manage officials, merchants and merchants from all over the capital to be obedient."
"How to say?"
"Your Majesty, whenever you bring goods into the capital, you have to pay taxes," Fu Man bowed to Li Jianting and whispered, "This account is not easy to collect, there are too many people who owe taxes and money, and they are not honest. The lord just has a way, not only to collect the account well, but also to arrange a lot of treasures for the emperor to enter the inner warehouse."
Neicang Dianshu manages the monthly tributes to the capital from all over the world. Half of the fruits and vegetables eaten by the emperor in the palace come from here. He has to deal with various merchants and local officials. The tax that Ge Qingqing pays when he enters the capital is here. The rank of the inner warehouse is not high, and the tax collectors under it are all minor officials, and they get close to the inner eunuch.
Li Jianting said, "So many?"
"This is still a little," Fuman turned his finger to settle accounts for Li Jianting, "Let's not mention the merchants in the eight cities for the time being, the merchants in the thirteen cities of Juexi and Hezhou are very rich, ah, the emperor. Now the chaos of the party is rampant, they are opportunistic and go to Zhongbo. When doing business, we no longer pay attention to etiquette, law, respect and inferiority, and food, clothing, and expenses are more lavish than the officials. These people are willing to spend money for themselves, but if they are not willing to pay the court, someone must beat them."
"Xue Pingjing is so powerful?" Li Jianting pretended not to know, "I've never heard of it before."
"It was not suitable for use in the past," Fuman complimented, "Thanks to the emperor's discerning eyes and pearls!"
When Li Jianting saw Fengquan passing by the window, he knew that Kong Qiu had arrived, so he whispered to Fuman, "You did a good job in this matter, I will see him someday."
Fuman was overjoyed, and withdrew with the blanket in his arms. When he got outside, he only gave Kong Qiu a salute and nodded slightly to Feng Quan before giving up.
Feng Quan reported respectfully outside the door: "Your Majesty, Yuan Fu is here."
* * *
Ji Gang rested on the rattan chair and slept in the courtyard. Since Xiao Xunhe was lying beside the rattan chair, he quietly drew a beard on Ji Gang's face with a brush.
"Oh, Buddha," he said in a low voice, "big tiger."
"Grandpa is mighty, and tigers are the most powerful." Xiao Xun gave Ji Gang a curly hair.
Ji Gang's nose was itchy and he sneezed loudly. The two children immediately hid behind the rattan chair. Ji Gang was not in a hurry to wipe his face, he lifted Xiao Xun by the back collar, pinched his real beard, and pretended to be angry: "It disturbs people's dreams, I will take care of you two!"
Xiao Xun thought that Ji Gang was going to hit him, so he hurriedly held his head, but Ji Gang lifted him up, his beard like a pen soaked in ink, rubbing Xiao Xun's cheeks black.
When Huo Lingyun came in, he saw Xiao Xun and since they were running wildly around the rattan chair, he walked along the corridor to the eaves, Fei Sheng was hugging his shoulders to watch the excitement, and said to Huo Lingyun, "Look at the prince, how clean you are when you come. "
Huo Lingyun nodded to indicate that he saw it, and asked, "Is there a gentleman in the room?"
Fei Sheng then retracted his gaze, looked at Huo Lingyun, and said, "Is something wrong?"
Huo Lingyun took out the letter from the sleeve pocket. It was a letter from Ge Qingqing to Jinyiqi. It was all about the movement of Qidu, and he had already opened it and read it. He said, "Look at it."
Fei Sheng took the letter and read it.
The sun in the courtyard basks in the corners of the eaves, and the freshly painted paint on the top is bright and bright, hiding the oldness of the house.
Fei Sheng looked calm after reading the letter, and continued to ask, "Have you read it to Qiao Tianya?"
"I didn't see him," Huo Lingyun said, "I took the three teams out of the city early in the morning."
"You wait." Fei Sheng folded the letter, turned to open the bamboo curtain, and saluted after entering, "Master, Ge Qingqing has written a letter, and it is about the transfer of the governor of the Dudu Army. Let's take a look at the master first."
Gao Zhongxiong stopped talking, Shen Zechuan raised the folding fan and let Gao Zhongxiong sit down. He gently pushed the folding fan with his right hand, which had only removed the gauze in the past few days, and said to Fei Sheng, "Come here."
Fei Sheng opened the letter and put it in Shen Zechuan's hand.
"Shao Chengbi..." Shen Zechuan said, "I remember that there was no such person in Xian Denian's Ducha evaluation. Did Chen Zhen recommend it?"
"Master," Fei Sheng reminded, turning sideways, "It's the Shaw Brothers of the Ministry of War."
Shen Zechuan's leisurely expression was slightly restrained, he read it again and said, "The Shao clan of the Ministry of War in Yongyinian?" He looked at Fei Sheng and quickly recalled, "... This is Shao Chengbi, the servant of the Ministry of War who was imprisoned by Ji Lei after the Donggong case. ?"
"Master has a good memory, it's him." Fei Sheng said, "This time, the eight major battalions were renamed the capital army, and all officers above the sixth rank were dismissed and replaced. They were recommended by Chen Zhen, Minister of War, reviewed by cabinet ministers, and granted the post of governor. Shao Chengbi, he has now changed his name to 'Chengbi'. Ge Qingqing said that this person has not left Qedu at all over the years, but stayed beside Zhaosin Temple selling steamed buns."
"Shao Chengbi is Chen Zhen's brother-in-law. It's reasonable that Chen Zhen wants to save him, but he should be in his sixties." Shen Zechuan closed the folding fan again, "I asked him to hang his seal, can he still mount a horse and carry a gun? ?"
"Not only that, Master, in order to hide people's eyes and ears, he made his voice hoarse and blinded one eye," Fei Sheng said.
Chen Zhen has numerous good generals recommended by the Minister of War. This person, like Cen Yu, is a Bole with discerning eyes and pearls. But Xuedu was in a critical period of survival. He gave the old Shao Chengbi the post of governor of the army. Was it because Xuedu really had no generals, or because Shao Chengbi really had the ability
"The Empress uses the old ministers," Zhou Gui looked at Shen Zechuan, "This is to make a case for the old case of the East Palace in Yongyinian."
Kong Ling said: "How can it be that easy."
"The Eight Cities have not yet eliminated the hidden dangers. If the Empress overturns the case for the Crown Prince of the East Palace at this moment, she will first arrest the remnants of the aristocratic family." Yao Wenyu covered the teacup, "She has stabilized the situation and cannot take this risk."
Li Jianting killed the chickens to warn the monkeys, used a court stick to scare Helian Hou to bed, and the other families immediately paid part of the land tax. Qi Du just breathed a sigh of relief, and spared his energy to rebuild the capital. If Li Jianting reversed the case at this moment, it would be harmful to Qi Du.
"The old Donggong case involved numerous officials. To overturn the case, there must be regulations and time," Yao Wenyu continued. "It can't be rushed."
He was also gently reminding Shen Zechuan that he couldn't be in a hurry, the old case of Donggong was more difficult than Shen Weibing's defeat.
"Shaw Brothers has been in hiding for a long time," Shen Zechuan said, "you have to ask Qiao Tianya about this."
Qiao Tianya returned at the time of Hai, and after taking off his armor in the side hall, he went to the main room to meet Shen Zechuan. He read Ge Qingqing's letter and said, "If it's really Bo Shao, then the Beiyuan Campus will have to increase troops."
"The Shaw Brothers belong to the Ministry of War, and Shao Chengbi is also the minister of the Ministry of War. He is not only familiar with the details of the deployment of troops in various places, but also the topographic map of Zhongbo." Shen Zechuan poked the tea foam, "Ce An has just left, and I don't dare to send troops at this moment, but before October we will I have to go back to Ibaraki."
If Yin Chang was still there, Shen Zechuan would be able to sit firmly in Duanzhou. Without Yin Chang, Shen Zechuan had to go to Cizhou to coordinate the garrison of Cizhou and Dunzhou.
"That's right," Qiao Tianya casually folded the letter into a crane, "During the 'Sanyao' period, the Shaw clan was considered a leader. The military department is not like the other five departments. Shao Bo's work as a servant is led by the Taifu, which is a real skill."
The "three Yaos" he said refer to the three important ministers in the cabinet during the reign of Emperor Yong'an, all of whom were from the Yao clan in Jincheng. Among them, Yao Wenyu's grandfather was the mainstay. It was not only the heyday of the Yao clan, but also the beginning of the rapid retreat of the Yao clan.
"My father, for the sake of safety, turned to the Hua family after the Grand Fu was imprisoned, and Shao Bo cut off his robes with my father." Qiao Tianya put the crane next to the candle and burned it, "When I left Qidu, I heard Said he had been beheaded."
"Since Shao Chengbi is under the guidance of the Taifu, he should call the Taifu 'teacher'," Fei Sheng said. "The master is a student of the Taifu, so we have a relationship with him."
"There are too many people who were supported by the Taifu during the Yongyi years. Although Shao Bo was also one of them, he neither communicated with the East Palace nor with the Taifu. Moreover, Shao was convicted because of the Li family, so naturally he should It's up to the Li family to rehabilitate." Qiao Tianya wiped the dust off his hands.
"But," Zhou Gui wondered, "Didn't Yuan Zhuo say that the Empress cannot take risks at this moment?"
"The Empress really can't take risks at this moment, as long as Shao Chengbi defeats the Zhongbo garrison," Yao Wenyu's teacup was cold, "Without foreign troubles, wouldn't the family's internal worries be eliminated?"
Xiao Chiye moves eastward, Libei is empty, and Zhongbo has no help. When will Xuedu not fight now
"If there is a real fight," Zhou Gui said, "we still have Tantai Tiger!"
"Tiger is impatient, and someone must be there to supervise it." Shen Zechuan cheered up, "...Fei Sheng, tell Master, we are going back to Cizhou."