On the first day of the Lunar New Year, every household, no matter the emperor, the prince, or the peddlers, had to relax, and even the New Year greetings had to start tomorrow, but the two carriages had quietly left Liangzhou and rushed to Lingzhou. In a carriage, apart from Huyan Guanyin who nominally served Xu Fengnian's basic necessities of life, there was also a woman who said she wanted to leave the palace to take a breather. State affairs, if you ignore them, it doesn't matter whether they are in harmony or fighting against each other. According to the agreement, several official letters from Beiliang Road will be issued to Huangnan County on the sixth day of the first lunar month. In addition to the prefect Song Yan who was promoted to Lingzhou Biejia, who is known as the "Little Inspector", Wang Lvting of the Zijin Wang family will also go to work as a gold thread weaving, and Lingsu King The two disciples of the family will also go to Youliang Prefecture to serve as the magistrate of Xiaxian County and the magistrate of Shangxian County respectively. At that time, the fool could also see that the new general of Lingzhou was determined to give the envoy who is also the governor of Lingzhou a slow-cooked bastard.
On the second day of the first lunar month, Lingzhou was very lively. According to common sense, some dignitaries and dignitaries who could come to visit Mr. Li a few days later all crowded together on the same day, and the mansion was busy with traffic. He and the concierge are already considered to be very clever things, but they still can't socialize, and they all want to give birth to three heads and six arms. Li Gongde has not rested for a moment since early in the morning, and he is busy until dusk. Drinking a sip of wine is enough to deal with it, otherwise, even if Li Gongde is massive, he can't bear the turn of those guests. Li Hanlin didn't go home to celebrate the New Year this year, and wrote a neatly written letter with profound skills. She was going to play in Beimang and Nanchao, seeing Li Negative was really terrified, wishing she could drag him home by the ear, put down the family letter, picked it up and put it down again, Li Neg really felt a little resentful, she really did What my father said, I don't understand what their men are thinking, why they can be safe and stable, enjoy the merits of their fathers and enjoy smooth sailing in the officialdom, but they still have to take risks to earn fame. When her father finally caught his breath, Li Chengzhen offered a cup of hangover tea, rubbed his shoulders for him, and asked softly, "Dad, why are there so many people here? It's because you have become an official and grown up. Competing for the first time? Afraid that you will be late, and you will wear small shoes?"
Li Gongde smiled wryly and shook his head: "Didn't you see that the old scholar Yuan Deqing is here today? With his arrogance, even if your father becomes the official minister who is now the head of the six departments, this old man will still be slow." He was the last one to come to the door, so he seemed to be a man of integrity. The reason why we all rushed together was because the current owner of our neighbor's house was not there, and I was afraid that His Royal Highness would return to the Lingzhou General's mansion in two days, and they would show up again. Don’t be afraid of 10,000, just in case. If the newly appointed general of Lingzhou happens to bump into him, wouldn’t it be boring? Your father wears shoes for people, just to suppress their career advancement, but the neighbors position, you can directly let them lose their official titles."
Li negative said sarcastically: "He really did such an outrageous and unreasonable thing."
Li Gongde smiled and said: "Wrong, big mistake, really, father knows that you never take father's words seriously, this time since father let Guo Fufeng enter the house for your sake, then you Why don't you just listen to Dad's heartfelt words when you get back home?"
Li negative hummed.
It is said that His Royal Highness is not so helpless, and always likes to slander Yan Jiexi for his lack of eyesight in private. In the end, Dad realized that he was just a half-hearted laugh. His Highness went to Huangnan County this time and kidnapped the three Patriarchs of Huangnan County. , plus Song Yan, who is estimated to be the governor of Lingzhou soon, is amazing. Zhener, you always think that Hanlin joined the army and went to the border, and His Highness harmed him, but have you ever wondered why Hanlin, who is so stubborn and stubborn, suddenly changed into a different person? The reason is actually not complicated, and you know it in your heart, but you just don't want to admit it. You told your mother that your younger brother felt that both Yan Chiji and the Kong family boy in the capital had become officials and had a bright future. Hanlin felt that he had lost face, so he gritted his teeth and worked hard. You really don’t know the Hanlin in the past, wishing that the three brothers were all promising and lawless, and he was the only one to eat and eat, and then he could eat and drink as a matter of course. To him at that time, his brothers were successful, and he was more proud than himself. Why did he go to the border, why did he become a crossbowman? Without it, it was Hanlin who knew that among the three brothers, His Royal Highness, the eldest son whom he admired the most, was already capable of being alone. It was at that time that Hanlin began to wake up. In fact, he has been imitating His Royal Highness, and when His Royal Highness is messing around, he will mess around. Now that His Highness stops messing around, he will naturally feel bored, so he has become Li Hanlin, whom his father and sister don't know. Zhener, do you dare to say that today's Li Hanlin doesn't make you feel gratified? Don't you feel honored? So, what do you have to blame His Royal Highness, in the final analysis, it is still in your heart after so many years... "
Li Chengzhen said flatly: "Father, the tea is cold, let me change it for you."
Li Gongde handed over the teacup, sighed softly, the twisted melon is not sweet, so what about the twisted melon? Li Gongde withdrew his thoughts, and muttered to himself: "Forget it, the matter has come to an end, it's okay if you don't become the governor of Lingzhou, let it go quickly, and you can be recorded as a favor by the Xu family. It's time to return Lingzhou to a safe and stable place." It's official."
The old steward He Chang stood outside the door with a look of resentment on his face, knocked on the door, waited until Li Gongde turned his head, and said: "Master, there is a guy who claims to be the late born of the master on the door certificate, and he wants to meet the master. I gave the little one twenty taels of gold, which shocked the little one. If it was normal, the gold would have been earned by the master, but how could it be his turn to bother the master today? A person who has no fame or family background only has some money left. Qian's scholar is also worthy of showing off in our Li's residence, he really doesn't know what to do, but today even a sixth-rank official can't speak a word."
Li Gongde waved his hand, and He Chang turned around and left. Then he let out a cry and woke up and said, "By the way, master, the young man in his thirties said his name was Xu Hun, and he was from Danyang County, Lingzhou. I swear that as long as I say this, the master will definitely meet him."
Li Gongde was absent-mindedly lowering his head to drink tea, and his fingers trembled, just as the old steward He Chang was about to drive that ignorant young man out of the mansion, he never wanted to make the lord raise his head, and calmly said: "Lead here."
The old steward let out a groan, and didn't dare to say anything more. He turned around and heard Li Gongde ask softly, "Is the Lingzhou General's Mansion still vacant?"
He Chang nodded and said, "It's empty, that Lingzhou general hasn't returned yet."
Li Gongde nodded, and after the loyal old steward left, he put the teacup on the table, stood up and joked to Li Chengzhen, "Father still has to greet guests, don't you always dislike dad and dog and look down on others? Guo Fufeng, who was born in a poor family, take him to meet your mother. If the daughter is not allowed to stay, my father will turn a blind eye and turn a blind eye, so he will pour you out of this pot of water and become a monk."
As usual, Li Negzhen would definitely show his joy on his face, and at this moment, relying on his intuition, he asked in a low voice: "Father, is this a guest from Danyang County named Xu Hun?"
Li Gongde smiled lightly and said, "I have to see a child of an old man."
Li Chengzhen was skeptical and left the house worried. The old steward hurriedly brought Xu Hun who didn't look like a nobleman, and the gentleman who had already sat back in the chair narrowed his eyes to take a closer look, hesitated for a moment, held the lid of the cup with two fingers, shook it slightly Cold tea.
The old steward walked away sensibly, and the ordinary-looking Xu Hun stepped into the room lightly, closed the door on his own initiative, and said with a smile, "Xu Hun thank you, late uncle."
Li Gongde did not speak from the beginning to the end, drinking tea with his head down. This Xu Hun is very strange to the whole Lingzhou. I am afraid that few people will recognize it. Even if they met once, no one will remember it. But Li Gongde is different from ordinary people. The Thread Weaving Bureau is located in Danyang County. According to the original intention of the imperial court, Li Xifeng, the golden thread weaving, was supposed to go to the Imperial Study Room in the capital. He did everything in detail, and collected the military officials in Beiliang on time. All the developments, but Li Xifeng probably depends on others, and knows that Xu Xiao is not easy to mess with, so he has been doing nothing, forcibly turning a weaving bureau with gloomy authority into a Qingshui yamen with few people. Li Gongde, Yan Jiexi and other local bosses, Li Xifeng often traveled to the mountains and rivers of Beiliang, and never deliberately hid them. Once, he met Li Gongde, who was then governor of Fengzhou, by chance. At that time, Li Xifeng had no chance. A groom was allowed to show up for no reason, and he was called by name intentionally or unintentionally, and introduced that he was the offspring of his distant relatives, named Xu Hun. Li Gongde was silent for a long time, finally raised his head, and exchanged a glance with Xu Hun. This person handed something to Mr. Jinglue envoy, "It was written by Zhang Julu, the chief assistant, and Huan Wen, the subordinate minister, also had a postscript."
Seeing that Li Gongde showed no signs of taking over, Xu Hun smiled, carefully placed it on the table, and said calmly: "If you can't trust the secret letter, don't worry, you can find a way to verify the handwriting and seal in private. If you can't trust the gold Li Xifeng, weaving thread, can take Xu Hun and send it to the Lingzhou General Mansion next door. If Xu Hun is not trusted, he can be escorted to the Golden Thread Weaving Bureau, and then transferred to Chu Lushan. Letter to make a decision."
Li Gongde responded with a sneer.
Xu Hun took it calmly.
While a cup of tea was hot and cold, Li Gongde glanced at the desk and asked indifferently, "Why are there two secret letters? What's written in them?"
Xu Hun said with a smile: "Xu Hun is a messenger, even if he dies, he will not know what is written in the letter, and Li Xifeng has never touched the secret letter from the beginning to the end. As for why there are two secret letters, since we have carefully Make the adults ask and show sincerity, then Xu Hun will die."
Li Gongde frowned and said, "How do you say that?"
Xu Hun said calmly: "Xu Hun escaped all the spies from Lingzhou during this trip, please rest assured. You might as well tell your lord the truth, the Lu family in Qingzhou was attacked, and the Peregrine Falcon in Beiliang suffered heavy casualties, especially Zhao Gou. In fact, the main reason is not to prevent the Lu family from going to Liang, but to attract the attention of Lingzhou, so that Xu Hun's trip is safe. But this is not enough, the court asked me to tell why the secret letter was there after you accepted it, my lord. 2. One is true and the other is false. If the color of the vermilion clay seal is heavy, it is true, and if it is light, it is false. The fake letter is used as a strategy to send the adult to the hands of the prince of Beiliang. Of course, except for one sealed Faith is not enough to clear up your suspicions, so Xu Hun is going to die, so is Li Xifeng, the golden thread weaving bureau, and even the entire golden thread weaving bureau will cease to exist from now on. But Li Xifeng has suffered, a weaving bureau, let It is worthwhile for the imperial court to have one more pillar of the temple, and at the same time let Beiliang lose one economic envoy!"
Xu Hun spit out a huge poisonous pill for temporary suicide from his mouth. After peeling it off, a small ball of paper was revealed. The broken pill was hidden in his cuff. After reading what was written on the paper, he stuffed the ball into his mouth. Swallowing it down, he said expressionlessly, "The day after tomorrow."
Li Gongde didn't speak.
Xu Hun explained: "The son of Northern Liang arrived in Lingzhou the day after tomorrow. Xu Hun quietly left today and came back the day after tomorrow. The Master Jinglue sent Xu Hun to the general's mansion in Lingzhou. After Xu Hun died, the Golden Thread Weaving Bureau will There are a group of surviving dead soldiers and a group of elite Zhao Gou, who left Beiliang with their masters. But they can only bring eighteen people at most. In order to leave smoothly, Master Li has to cooperate with us, first let go of the governor of Lingzhou Then stay in Lingzhou for at least half a year, during which time you can go out to relax and relax the surveillance of Beiliang spies. When Zhao Gou is suitable to make a move, someone will naturally inform Lord Li at that time."
Li Gongde sneered and said: "It seems that the court accidentally forgot about my son Li Hanlin!"
Xu Hun said with a smile: "Young Master Li has already obtained a military order to go to the Southern Dynasty to act secretly. He will first stop in Gusai Prefecture, then travel eastward along the border of the Youliang Northern Line, enter Jizhou, and finally meet Mr. Li in the capital."
Li Gongde closed his eyes, tapped the lid lightly on the rim of the teacup, and said with a little self-mockery: "Last time, Yan Jiexi only took out sixteen people, but the imperial court cares a lot about me."
Xu Hun remained silent.
Li Gongde smiled and said: "Let me do the calculations. Now I, Li Gongde, are the second-rank official of the frontier. If I go up, I don't have to think about it in Beiliang, but there are not many positions in the capital. Among the six ministers, apart from the Minister of the Ministry of Officials who has only recently been promoted to a half-rank, the others are not available. Well, presumably the fake secret letter should have killed the Minister of the Ministry of Officials, and maybe it will be even more petty. , but I am very curious. Before opening the letter, what kind of reward is on the letter? Zhang Julu is in charge of the Minister of the Ministry of Education, and it cannot be changed. Well, in addition to being in charge of this place, it seems that this official can also have multiple cabinet titles. Li Gongde has been addicted to being an official in his life, but he really never thought that one day he would be able to keep pace with such big figures as the blue-eyed son and grandson Xiji high position."
When Xu Hun should not speak, he always remained silent.
Li Gongde asked with a smile: "Aren't you afraid that I will send you, including a letter, to His Royal Highness right now?"
Xu Hun said indifferently: "It's all dead, so why not Xu Hun died two days earlier?"
Li Gongde stared at his face for a moment, then nodded.
"Thank you Master Li for letting Xu Hun die well."
Xu Hun made a deep bow, gently opened and closed the door, and quietly left the mansion of the Jinglue envoy.
Li Gongde stood up, walked to the table, stretched out a hand, quickly retracted once as if it was hot, and then slowly stretched out his hand, but it always stopped a few inches above the two secret letters, his face was dark and unclear.