Chapter 13 fourth quarter

Hejialou. Duan Zijie sat beside Li Dunmin, followed his gaze, and introduced everyone present in a low voice. "That short, fat and dark man is called Li Chengjian. I heard that Xining was just an ordinary boat builder ten years ago, but now he is the owner of the largest boat workshop in Borneo. He has built more than four hundred ships of two thousand materials, and countless ships are being repaired and maintained in his dock..." "Two thousand materials...Generally, a large ship with two thousand people's materials can be as little as one thousand guan, and as expensive as two thousand or even three thousand guan...Although it is not as good as the Tang family, the scale of building 400 ships a year is still very small. counted."

Duan Zijie knew that Li Dunmin was very familiar with the situation of the people, and said with a smile: "Overseas is right, Li Chengjian can be regarded as a rich man. Cochin, Sanfoqi and other countries all buy ships from him." After finishing speaking, he said : "The tall, thin guy next to Li Chengjian is Yang Huai." "He is Yang Huai?" Li Dunmin seemed taken aback.He had heard about Yang Huai, who was originally a que guard under Xue Yi's subordinates. He was dismissed for violating military discipline, and was later hired by some armed fleets. He was famous at sea for his bravery and viciousness.In the twelfth year of Xining, after he recruited a group of fifty or sixty pirates, he led these people to reform, and called himself "Wu Bandang", who was specially employed by those unarmed fleets that went to trade in the Zhuan Kingdom to protect them. To avoid being attacked by pirates, but within four or five years, not only did his "companion" expand rapidly, becoming a companion with 200 people and five quasi-warships, but it also led to the emergence of a large number of companions in the southeast.The "Ban Dang Xing" in the southeast and the "Biao Xing" and "Da Xing" that appeared later in the Central Plains and the North even alarmed the two prefectures.The Song court issued a special decree for this purpose, restricting and managing the companion line, standard line, and da line.Li Dunmin had heard of Yang Huai's name a long time ago, but he didn't expect that he turned out to be a thin and tall man with no striking appearance.

"That's the man." Duan Zijie said with a smile, "there are many big shopkeepers in Dongnan Bandang, and they are all Yang Huai's apprentices. In recent years, Wu Bandang has dealt with the Zhuren people the most. They have rich experience and are extremely friendly to them. Enmity. Yang Huai's two sons and a younger brother were all killed by pirates pretending to be Zhuren sailors. He hated the Zhuren people to the core and had been looking forward to the court's war against Zhuren." "There is also that triangular-eyed man named Li Tiannan, who was originally from Jiaozhi. Now he is the guest of the Three Marquises of Boni. He is just a small sea merchant, but he is very famous among the sea merchants in the South China Sea. He specializes in connecting sea merchants with local barbarian nobles. Take a commission from it... Some people say that he is actually Wen Huan's person."

Li Dunmin couldn't help being taken aback, and asked back: "Really?" "I don't know about that." Duan Zijie said with a smile, "The three of them were brought by Uncle Cao Yun. I'll find out later what the purpose of returning to the country against the wind this season...and that one, Chai Yuan Chai Guanren , I saw that I greeted him overseas just now, so I think I know him." Chai Yuan was introduced to Li Dunmin by Pan Zhaolin, but he would never mention this to Duan Zijie, he just nodded: "He is a branch of the state guest, but why did he come here?"

"This Chai official has a lot of friends..." Duan Zijie laughed, "He and Li Chengjian and Yang Huai are old friends." "I see." Li Dunmin responded softly, and then drank his tea with his head down. This is a tea party initiated by Cao Youwen.There were about 20 or 30 people who attended the meeting, and they reserved a large courtyard in Hejialou.Among these people, there are monks and priests who are good at sharing tea, business partners who have close contacts with the Cao family, maritime merchants like Li Chengjian, Yang Huai, and Li Tiannan, and uninvited guests like Chai Yuan...

This kind of tea party is a very popular social activity in Lingyamen. The host will not introduce each guest in particular. , Decision-making, is produced in such a tea party.Maritime merchants are not barbarians who only know how to chase profits but do not understand elegance, as people imagine.They also have poetry gatherings and tea parties. Although the customs are not the same as those in Bianjing, they also have a special flavor. Li Dunmin was brought here by Duan Zijie, a governor of the coastal production department and an overseas affairs minister. The two had close political stances, had to deal with each other in their positions, and had a somewhat speculative temperament, so they quickly became friends.Duan Zijie, who was born in Weiwei Temple, seems to pay more attention to intelligence collection than ordinary officials.Upon receiving Cao Youwen's invitation, he immediately agreed to attend, and even brought Li Dunmin over.This made Cao Youwen overjoyed, and Cao Youwen really wanted to win over Li Dunmin.Duan Zijie and Li Dunmin's support for the settlement of the bank is an important reason for the smooth passage of the matter, and Cao Youwen also knows that Li Dunmin not only has an unusual relationship with Shi Yue, but is also appreciated by Sima Guang-but Li Dunmin is business-like in everything The official attitude is really a headache.I never thought that I would plant flowers intentionally but not bloom, or plant willows and willows inadvertently, so I invited him to a small tea party.After the success of the settlement bank, the morale of Cao Youwen, who had been running into trouble in Bianjing, was greatly boosted. On the one hand, he arranged for Wang Liuzhang to bring Zhou Yingfang's cousin back to Lingyamen to prepare, while he stayed in Bianjing to prepare for the settlement bank. On the other hand, the heart that had gradually become discouraged from lobbying the imperial court to start a war against the Zhuian Kingdom slowly became active again.

Li Dunmin, who was still ignorant of the ambitions of Cao Youwen and Duan Zijie, was secretly listening to the chatter of the participants. "This year's fortune doesn't look too good..." "Yeah, I don't know how many villages can survive the New Year's Eve... If the banknotes are abolished, I will suffer a lot." "Zhang Yuanwai can really joke. If the imperial court really wants to promulgate the bank annexation law, isn't it a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Yuanwai? It's unlucky to be in such a small workshop..." "Yeah, now that the Sangong is in power, it will be a matter of time before the country recovers. I don't know how many people are waiting for the promulgation of the bank annexation law with real money. For Zhang Yuanwai, who has a lot of money and a big business, and those who hold Maritime merchants with a lot of gold, silver, and money are now responding to the idiom: How can you know that it is not a blessing if you lose your horse?"

"I heard rumors that Zhang Shaoqing came forward again, saying that he wanted to amend the bank law and set up a bank bureau under the Taifu Temple to manage all the banks in the world. It will be much more difficult to open a bank in the future. If this rumor is true, don't How long do you want to wait to start? In short, those who have gold, silver and money in their hands don’t have to be afraid at any time. Those who are unlucky have no money.” "I've also heard people say that Zhou Yingfang told the shopkeepers of the small banks in the head office of the bank, asking them to take advantage of the annexation law before it was promulgated, to calculate their family fortunes early, and if they feel that they can't survive, they can merge with his rich and expensive bank and calculate at a discount. Shares, it can be regarded as everyone's joint wealth, it is better than being forcibly annexed in the future, and nothing..."

"He thinks beautifully! What's the difference between this and Ming Qiang?" "There is also a difference between Ming Qiang and Ming Qiang. Left and right are dead, so we must choose a better looking dead man." "The way of the world has always been like this. The court has to take care of those who are rich and powerful; the court has to take care of those who are too poor to eat. Even in collecting taxes, the upper households and the lower households take advantage, and the middle households suffer. The current situation is no exception. A person with a big family and a big business can’t suffer, and the sea merchant was raised by Shi Xianggong, and he can’t suffer. The unlucky ones are still middle-class families..."

In the gossip and complaints of these businessmen, sometimes there is a sharp insight.In Li Dunmin's view, middle-class families, middle-class merchants and workshop owners are the foundation of the country and the main source of national taxes.However, the rich and powerful have privileges and are more able to resist risks; and the poorest people have to be especially appeased by the imperial court for fear of their rebellion.Therefore, in the end, only the interests of the middle class can be harmed. This is an extremely foolish approach, but the officials and ministers of the court enjoyed it so much that they didn't notice it at all.Those wealthy families have far more wealth than others, but they never know how to restrain themselves.If the bank annexation law is really promulgated, the bank industry created by countless small and medium-sized businessmen who have worked hard for more than ten years will easily fall into their hands.This is the case with the bank industry, and those small and medium-sized workshops may not be spared.

All this made Li Dunmin worried, but he was helpless.In the imperial court, he didn't have many like-minded people.It is not that the DPRK does not have officials who speak for the middle class, but the "middle class" is only limited to farmers. In these conversations, the only thing that made Li Dunmin a little relieved was that the merchants did not lose their confidence in the imperial court.Payment of banknotes may be abolished, and countless businessmen and workshop owners may not be able to survive the New Year. However, from these chats, Li Dunmin felt everyone's confidence in the future.Merchants believe that with the three princes in power, the future will definitely get better.He intuitively felt that this kind of confidence in the future would be the most reliable thing in this crisis. "Have you heard these gossips overseas?" Li Dunmin raised his head, but saw that the person talking to him was the fat and dark Li Chengjian.It was quite rude for Li Chengjian to ask such a question, and he couldn't help being stunned for a moment. "These are all based on how easy it is for people to carry water." Li Chengjian didn't know his impoliteness, and said, "Just now Cao Yuanwai and Di said that overseas is the parent official of these maritime merchants, and Di was more courageous. Talk to overseas about the difficulties of diggers..." Li Chengjian's Mandarin had a strong Fujian accent, but fortunately Li Dunmin was from Jiangning, he could barely understand it.However, this Li Chengjian had a loud voice, and after a few words, he had already attracted everyone's attention.Cao You heard that Li Chengjian didn't know etiquette, so he hurriedly smoothed things over: "It's no wonder overseas, Li Yuanwai doesn't know..." But Duan Zijie laughed beside him and said, "You don't have to care about Yuanwai Cao, it's okay to listen to him. Let everyone know what difficulties the merchants have." When he said this, Li Dunmin couldn't refute his face, so he agreed. nodded. "Overseas is really a good official." Li Chengjian said in a loud voice, "I just heard everyone's discussion, and I don't understand anything else, but I am not convinced that the life of the sea merchants is easy at this time. If life is really It’s easy, what country do you want to go back to now? Don’t be convinced, everyone, no matter how sad the country is, there is one thing, the country is peaceful!” "Mr. Li, what do you say? Is the South China Sea not peaceful?" "Taiping! Taiping is a bird!" After Li Chengjian said a few words, his true colors were revealed, and he cursed badly.Seeing Li Dunmin's expression change, Yang Huai quickly stopped Li Chengjian with a wink, and said, "He is a rough man, don't take offense overseas. But now the South China Sea, I really don't know how long it will be peaceful." Everyone didn't expect that Yang Huai's words were so polite, they couldn't help being surprised.He also heard Chai Yuan laughing from the side: "Old Yang, don't want to scare people." "I don't dare to speak nonsense." Yang Huai glanced at Chai Yuan, then clasped his fists at Duan Zijie and Li Dunmin and said, "My lords have learned from you, I'm definitely not here to scare you when I return to China against the wind in winter. The days of the sea merchants It is indeed getting more and more difficult. On the one hand, the Zhuren Kingdom blocked the commercial roads. On the other hand, in the past few years, Xixia has completely controlled the Hexi Road and the old Tuyuhun Road. The trade is becoming more and more prosperous, and some Hu merchants have already started to use the land route. Now it is even worse, and there are rumors everywhere in the South China Sea that Sanfo Qi and the Zhuren Kingdom have colluded again and want to betray the court. The days of peace are only a few days away ..." "It's just a rumor." Duan Zijie smiled nonchalantly. "Lord Duan, this is not as simple as a rumor." Yang Huai sat up straight and said seriously, "Three Buddhas have a heart of betrayal for a long time. On that day, Three Buddhas sold Ling Yamen and half sold it to the court. , its purpose is nothing more than to use the power of the imperial court to get rid of the control of the Zhunian Kingdom. But since the imperial court and the Jiaozhi Allied Forces destroyed Boni, the imperial court has been powerful in the South China Sea, and Sanfoqi has long been dissatisfied with this. And the Zhuren Kingdom has also He is ambitious, and has been secretly recruiting Sanfoqi. I often escort merchant ships to the Zhuren Kingdom. The merchant ships of the Sanfoqi will be entertained when they go to the Zhuren Kingdom. Team. The two countries have colluded, and the signs have been revealed. Sanfoqi not only ordered 2,000 raw ships from all over the country to expand the navy, but also saw with his own eyes that the Zhunian National Navy also had 2,000 raw sea ships built in the Song Dynasty. Master Cai once promulgated a decree that it is strictly forbidden to sell ships with more than 300 materials to the Zhuan Kingdom, and those who violate the prohibition privately will be accused of treason. If it is not Sanfoqi who is doing tricks, how can it be explained?" "Everything Lao Yang said is true. The villain travels to and from the city of Manjara, and Manjara is the big city of Sanfoqi. This rumor was first spread from Manjara. It is rumored that Sanfoqi met because of Dan Liumei. The imperial court is dissatisfied. Danliumei has always been a vassal state of Sanfoqi, but now Angkor and Champa want to annex Danliumei. In order to protect himself, Danliumei has to get close to the court. Sanfoqi has long been dissatisfied. His family expects When it comes to annexing Danliumei, it is inevitable that he will offend the imperial court, so he has a rebellious heart. The Three Buddhas have been going to Manjara to buy armor, bows and arrows, and recruit elephant trainers, so they must have no good intentions." Li Tiannan's official words are also true. not bad. "Don't Marquis Xue know these things?" Duan Zijie couldn't help asking. "Of course I know. But..." Yang Huai sighed and said, "However, Xue Hou not only didn't believe it, he also severely scolded the person who made the suggestion, and said that the Three Buddhas are very respectful to the court, and there will be no difference Zhi." Li Dunmin had been listening silently, and was stunned when he heard this.But Duan Zijie suddenly turned his face down, and said angrily: "Since Xue Hou said that Sanfoqi will not have different ambitions, then naturally there will be no different ambitions. Why are you so confused?" When he was so angry, everyone couldn't help but look at each other.Li Chengjian looked at him unconvinced, and was about to speak, but Li Tiannan pulled his sleeves.Seeing the embarrassment of the scene, Cao You hurriedly joked and changed the subject.As if it had been arranged, at this moment, the sound of the zither sounded, and several monks who shared the tea were ready and began to fight tea. Although Li Chengjian came from a humble background, he was more obsessed with the art of tea distribution than others, and soon became intoxicated in the "Tea Hundred Plays" played by those monks, walking around here, looking there, dancing with joy, Leave all mundane things behind.But Yang Huai knew nothing about tea art. After watching it for a while, he couldn't help sighing quietly, and said softly to Li Tiannan who was beside him: "Sure enough, the officials and officials guard each other, and Xue Hou doesn't take it seriously. How can this gentleman compare to Xue Hou?" ? This time I’m afraid it’s a waste of time.” Li Tiannan closed his eyes slightly, took a deep breath of the tea fragrance, and was about to answer, but Chai Yuan laughed softly at the side, "That's not necessarily the case." He stopped talking, and sure enough, he saw Yang Huai looking at Chai Yuan, Asked further: "Chai Yuanwai, how do you say this?" Chai Yuan smiled slightly, and said softly: "Old Yang, why do you care what Hou Xue thinks, what Lord Duan thinks? Hou Xue and Lord Duan have their own ideas, so it's possible that you don't have any ideas of your own?" Li Tiannan couldn't help but nodded and smiled: "That's the idea. We just need to spread this matter in Bianjing." The three people on this side were whispering, while Li Dunmin on the other side was absent-mindedly watching the tea monk blow out all kinds of flowers, birds, insects and fish, while keeping his eyes on Duan Zijie.Li Dunmin was quite surprised by Duan Zijie's attitude just now.But he didn't know how the friendship between Duan Zijie and Xue Yi was, and it was inconvenient for him to speak for a while.But after holding back for a long time, he finally said, "I'm afraid I have to remind Xue Hou." "Huh?" Duan Zijie was stunned for a moment, seeing that the people around him were not paying attention, Fang chuckled softly and said, "Don't worry overseas, in my opinion, Xuehou won't be so confused." Seeing Li Dunmin looking at him in surprise, he couldn't help but Puchi smiled, but finally just shook his head and smiled, but refused to say anything more.He had already guessed Xue Yi's thoughts in his heart, but no matter what, he couldn't say anything about this kind of thing. The tea party in Hejialou gradually reached its climax. Amidst the voices of admiration one after another, rumors that Sanfo Qi would collude with the rebellion of the Zhuian Kingdom also spread secretly.In the city of Bianjing, there was already an atmosphere of uneasiness. The spread of such rumors made people feel that the Song Dynasty was about to enter a precarious era after its brief glory. Li Dunmin, who served as Prime Minister of Overseas Affairs in Xining for seventeen years, did not know what the next era would be like, let alone what role he would play in the next era.At this time, Li Dunmin was no different from other middle- and lower-level bureaucrats who wanted to make a difference.Although he is a foreign affairs minister, what he really cares about is the great crisis that the southeastern roads of the Great Song Dynasty will face.The reason why overseas trade is important, in his mind, is that overseas trade is closely related to the prosperity of the southeast.Although he already believed the rumors that Srivijaya was about to rebel at the tea party, Li Dunmin still lacked confidence in his important military and diplomatic judgments.Duan Zijie is the governor of the Coastal Control Department, and Xue Yi is the commander of the Second Army of the Tiger Wing Army. Since the two of them disagreed, Li Dunmin didn't take it too seriously. At this time, Li Dunmin was thinking about another matter. That was a very difficult matter - just a few days ago, Li Dunmin received a letter from Chen Yuanfeng.The letter said that he accidentally found a woman in Chengdu Mansion, who might be A Yuan who was lost in Shi Mansion. During the Xining period, the later the time, the more open the so-called cronies became.As for the so-called old party and stone party officials, it is very rare that they can always maintain friendship with new party officials even if they have the friendship of fellow countrymen and the same year.But in everything, there will inevitably be exceptions. Li Dunmin and Chen Yuanfeng are a pair of exceptions. As early as the early years of Xining, Chen Yuanfeng joined the new party and distanced himself from Shi Yue, so he was separated from his old friends.When he joined Lu Huiqing's family, like the Chai brothers, he almost cut off his ties with him.Only Li Dunmin still thinks about his acquaintance with commoners, and still communicates with him.One is Lv Huiqing's favorite student, and the other is Shi Yue's confidant. Although they have different positions and seldom talk about politics, whether they are discussing specific state and county affairs, exchanging experience in dealing with slippery officials, or talking about articles and knowledge, and caring for each other. They also had a good time with each other.After a period of indifference and alienation, the friendship between the two deepened. Li Dunmin firmly believed that Chen Yuanfeng had just gone astray, but what he did was all out of public interest.When Chen Yuanfeng published the Yizhou incident in the last chapter, it prompted Lu Huiqing to step down and strengthened Li Dunmin's heart.Since then, the New Party of the DPRK and China has a lot of resentment against Chen Yuanfeng. Those who criticized him and defended him most vigorously were Fan Chunren and Li Dunmin. But this time Chen Yuanfeng posed a problem for Li Dunmin. In the letter, Chen Yuanfeng mainly talked about other things.Chen Yuanfeng told Li Dunmin that he and Gao Zunyu had mobilized the Xiang army, town soldiers, and archers to complete the siege of Fuyu County. He also said that he would not wait for Feng Jing to enter Shu, and lead his existing troops to suppress the rebellion.Li Dunmin has always known Chen Yuanfeng's courage, he is a person who dares to take risks with his head up.Therefore, Chen Yuanfeng is not just talking, it is success or failure, and I am afraid that news will spread to Bianjing sooner or later.Chen Yuanfeng just mentioned the matter of A Yuan in the letter, and bluntly said that his attitude towards Shi Yue has not changed. If he sends A Yuan back to the Shi Mansion, it may cause misunderstandings, but A Yuan is not happy in Chengdu, and he has a compassionate heart. They all exist, and it is difficult to ignore them, so I hope to send A Yuan to Li Dunmin's residence first, and ask him to send him back to Shifu. It was these vague words that made Li Dunmin in a dilemma.With his nature, it is difficult for him to refuse Chen Yuanfeng; but if he wants to send A Yuan back to the Shifu, it is not so easy - A Yuan has been missing for a long time, and after all, he is only a maid of Chu Yun'er. For a long time, who knows what Shi Yue and his wife are thinking now?What's more, in Li Dunmin's view, this matter is also an act of hurting Shi Yue's "law".Today's Shi Yue is already an extremely human minister and attracts people's attention.What happened more than ten years ago, Li Dunmin only hopes that the world will forget it, and he is unwilling to touch this scar again. Li Dunmin admires and trusts Shi Yue so much, he has always been proud of being Shi Yue's "commoner friend", and he wholeheartedly hopes to help Shi Yue become a "perfect man".But now, he is facing a big problem, that is, no matter what he does, it seems that Shi Yue, a "perfect man", will inevitably be tarnished. Li Dunmin stayed until the end of the tea party with a heavy heart.Neither he nor Duan Zijie had a carriage—although the civil and military officials of the Song Dynasty had generous salaries, according to the salary formulated by Xining's new official system, the average monthly salary of the two plus various additional expenses, before handing over banknotes and accidents, was converted into money. Seventy or so.Even though prices in Bianjing have always been high, in the past, the top-quality japonica rice was only worth a penny per stone; pork and mutton were only thirty or forty wen a song catty, and mutton even fell to twenty after opening trade with the Liao Kingdom. Duowen is one Song Jin, and dead beef is only one hundred Wen per Song Jin.The monthly salary of sixty or seventy guan is really considerable.But the lives of the two of them were not rich.Duan Zijie has been in office for more than ten years, and spent most of his time in Bianjing. From Weiwei Temple to the Shufu, there is no "fat vacancy" in his position, and he lives on this salary.He has already married Xiang Anbei's younger sister and gave birth to two sons. Given his status and status, there are always servants and maidservants in the family. Baba.Coupled with his heroism and righteousness, the money is even more unnecessary.After all, his family background is not bad, and his wife is well married. After all, the Xiang family is an aristocratic family with a rich dowry, which is why he bought a house near Chenzhou Gate, which can be regarded as starting a family.However, it is not so easy to maintain a carriage. It is not difficult to buy a carriage. What is difficult is the money for raising the horse every month, the money for the maintenance of the car body, and the money for hiring a coachman...the expenses Whether it is Duan Zijie or Li Dunmin, it is not a small amount.Li Dunmin has always been in the "fat position", but he is determined to be an upright official and to help Shi Yue achieve a great career. With this thought, he will naturally not be rich.When he was a magistrate, the carriage and shoulders were not a problem, but when he arrived in Bianjing, what was a mere overseas minister?Moreover, in the seventeenth year of Xining, the prices in Bianjing have become unbelievably expensive. In the past, officials hoped that the imperial court would convert silk, cotton cloth, charcoal, etc. , but now 70% of the salaries issued by the Ministry of Households are banknotes, and 50% to 60% of them are paid in banknotes-this is equivalent to half salary for officials.Under such circumstances, it is absolutely impossible to raise a carriage. He is not even as good as Duan Zijie. Duan Zijie is good at riding and can ride a horse instead of traveling. Li Dunmin can't even ride a horse.So Duan Zijie invited him out. Of course, he was too embarrassed to ride a horse by himself, so he had to rent a carriage. In order to save money, he didn't dare to rent the carriage for a day, and only asked the carriage to pick up people when the time came.Unexpectedly, when the two of them left Hejialou, they were both dumbfounded—the carriage did not appear for some reason. Seeing the businessmen coming out of the tea party one after another, the two of them were entertaining Cao Youwen who was seeing off the guests, and their hearts were already tight with embarrassment.Duan Zijie was thinking of a way to get out, and there is no way out, but at this moment, he saw a carriage driving up and stopped at the door of Hejialou.When the two looked up, they saw Tian Liewu and a Confucian scholar getting out of the car, walked up to the two with a smile, clasped their fists and said with a smile: "Overseas, Brother Duan, why are you destined to meet here?" Li Dunmin and Tian Liewu were nodding acquaintances, so they quickly returned the salute.Duan Zijie was really overjoyed, he looked at the carriage, then at Tian Liewu, and said with a smile: "Old Tian, ​​after three days' farewell, you should look at him with admiration." Tian Liewu blushed, glanced at Cao Youwen next to him, and said with a naive smile: "Brother Duan, don't make fun of me, let people make fun of you." He asked again, "This is..." Although Cao Youwen had met Tian Liewu in the early years, he had no memory of it at this time, but he saw that Duan Zijie and Tian Liewu were familiar with each other casually, and Li Dunmin was serious about the matter. " "It turned out to be Mr. Cao, I have admired you for a long time." Tian Liewu heard the word "Cao Youwen", and hurriedly returned the salute solemnly.He saw that Duan Zijie and Cao Youwen looked at him in surprise, and said with a smile: "I heard about Mr. Cao's name early on, and I also know that Mr. Chen and Mr. Sima are common friends. I was in Shifu back then. Zeng Duomeng The two gentlemen give pointers..." According to the habits of the time, since Tian Liewu and Sima Mengqiu had such a relationship, he had to behave like a junior throughout his life, which was also a matter of course.However, Duan Zijie knew that Cao Youwen didn't know Tian Liewu, so he specially introduced him to him. Only then did Cao Youwen know that the person in front of him was actually the second steward of the Prince's East Palace who was in charge of Youchunfang.Tian Liewu introduced the Confucian scholar next to everyone, but it was Zhao Shizhong. It turned out that since Tian Liewu became an official of the East Palace, his situation was quite different.Everyone in the palace, from the Empress Dowager Gao to the emperor, knew that he was loyal and loyal, and they relied heavily on him.Not long after, he was also appointed as the commander of the fifth branch of Yulong Bow and Arrow.Together with Yang Shifang, Tian Liewu assisted the prince wholeheartedly.It's just that the sixth brother is quite stubborn, and Rou Jia is there to help. Yang Shifang and Tian Liewu are both loyal and lacking in wisdom. Although they often advise and advise, they will inevitably be played around.However, the rumors about Sixth Brother's lack of morality in the public are getting more and more day by day, more and more people in Bianjing mention Sixth Brother, shaking their heads and sighing.Tian Liewu has a lot of old acquaintances in Kaifeng Mansion, and he has heard many thrilling rumors, so he is inevitably more worried.But with his wisdom, he couldn't think of any good way to deal with it, and because he didn't have evidence, he didn't dare to speak nonsense.Among his friends, Zhao Shizhong was the only one who had some status in Xixia, had read some books, had some knowledge, and was considered a half-hearted counselor.Moreover, Tian Liewu and Zhao Shizhong often communicated and knew that he was reliable, so whenever he heard something, he would go to Zhao Shizhong to discuss it. On this day, after Tian Liewu left the East Palace, he dragged Zhao Shizhong home to discuss matters.Unexpectedly, when passing by Hejialou, he happened to run into Duan Zijie and Li Dunmin.The house newly given to Tian Liewu by Empress Dowager Gao is near the Hejialou.Given Tian Liewu's disposition, Duan Zijie and him were Wu Jinshi in the same year, and they had a very good friendship, needless to say; Li Dunmin and Cao Youwen, since they met, inevitably invited them to their home for a drink.Don't think that Duan Zijie and Li Dunmin were looking forward to his rescue at this time, so they naturally agreed; Cao Youwen also wanted to accept, let alone refuse.The three of them got into Tian Liewu's carriage together and went to Tian's house. When everyone arrived at Tian's house, they saw Wen Dayou and Ma Shao already waiting in the living room, and seeing Tian Liewu and others coming back, got up and sang, Wen Dayou then said: "Brother Tian, ​​did you hear those nonsense words? " "What nonsense?" "In the past few days, a crazy Taoist appeared out of nowhere. He told people everywhere that he heard some birds singing in the north of Tianzheng..." Tian Liewu didn't understand astrology, and looked at Wen Dayou puzzledly: "What does Tianming mean?" Li Dunmin, Duan Zijie, and Cao Youwen's expressions changed drastically. The three looked at each other, and Duan Zijie said in a deep voice: "This Tianming is a kind of vision, if there is a change in the sky, it means that something will happen to the owner, and there will be wars, and the people will be displaced." Wen Da nodded, and said: "The crazy Taoist is also what the official said. I only thought he was talking nonsense, so I sent someone to arrest him. But these days, rumors have always been endless, people People say that the officials want to do great things, and the Khitan want to raise troops to commit crimes in the south. What is even more annoying is that there are still some people who say that the crazy Taoist is not an ordinary person, and that he saw a strange cloud appearing above the current Yongwang Mansion ten years ago. What is the spirit of the Son of Heaven..." When Wen Dayou said recklessly that he would come out, everyone's expressions suddenly changed.Duan Zijie had heard these rumors a long time ago, so he couldn't help but snorted, and said: "The next step must be to talk about the country's internal and external troubles, turbulence, if the officials are good, and the sixth brother is stubborn, I am afraid that it will be difficult to take on the important task. The country must be established. Lord, among all the kings, King Yong is the most virtuous... and so on!" "This official is really amazing!" Wen Da looked at Duan Zijie with admiration. Duan Zijie snorted coldly again, and exchanged glances with Li Dunmin and Cao Youwen.The three of them knew that they had come to Tian's house this time, but they didn't come for a good time, and accidentally got involved in the court struggle. When Tian Liewu saw that Wen Dayou and Duan Zijie were going back and forth, he had already exposed the words.At this time, he no longer shied away, bowed to Duan Zijie and the three of them, and said sincerely: "I didn't want the three of you to get involved in this matter. Overseas, Brother Duan, and Mr. Cao, if you feel that there is a suspicion, you can leave at this time." Go, it's not too late." Duan Zijie and Li Dunmin looked at each other and smiled, but found a chair and sat down on their own.Cao Youwen changed his mind and made up his mind, he said with a smile, "I'm afraid I can't help you." Tian Liewu couldn't help being overjoyed when he saw the three of them like this, and said: "The three of you are indeed loyal." While inviting everyone to sit down and introducing them one by one, Fang sighed: "To be honest, these rumors are getting worse every day... "He is a loyal person. When he said this, he thought it was inappropriate to talk about Empress Dowager Gao and the emperor. He couldn't say it for a while, and he was speechless for a long time. But I heard Ma Shao laughing at the side: "Brother Tian, ​​what are you worried about? What we do is aboveboard. It's unlucky to have such a situation. King Yong has a good reputation. Before this incident, even my old horse I also want to praise him as a 'virtuous king'. Nowadays, the people's life is getting more and more difficult, and the court can't come up with a countermeasure, which is because people's hearts are fluctuating, and there are all kinds of rumors, saying that the sixth brother is bad, and that King Yong is good, and Bianjing is everywhere. Singing the scene where Taizu gave way to Taizong, don’t say it’s the people of Bianjing, even those scholars and officials, it’s not necessarily that they don’t want King Yong to be an official. Anyway, it’s all Zhao’s country, and It’s not that there is no precedent. It’s just that ordinary people don’t study much, so they say whatever they think, while those scholars and officials have a lot of tricks, and they don’t dare to speak nonsense when they think about it!” As soon as he clarified his words, Zhao Shizhong also sighed: "To put it bluntly, I'm afraid the people in Bianjing are really on the side of King Yong. Even I heard people say that there was a catastrophe more than ten years ago, and King Yong How to petition for the people... If it weren't for the head of Sangshan Mountain and Mr. Cheng who spared no effort to say good things for Brother Liu...But even Mr. Cheng's students are secretly dissatisfied with Brother Six. But from what I see, Whether it is creating destiny or creating public opinion, it is not to be feared, but what is to be feared is why King Yong dares to be so unscrupulous?" At this moment, Li Dunmin couldn't help but look at Ma Shao and Zhao Shizhong with admiration.Seeing Ma Shao's wretched appearance and Zhao Shizhong's being from Xixia, he looked down upon him a bit.Listening to them talking at this moment, one of them speaks outspokenly, but in an orderly manner, explaining things clearly; the other points directly to the crux of the matter, which is obviously much stronger than the dignified Wen Dayou.But Li Dunmin was not like Duan Zijie. Duan Zijie dared to say anything, but Li Dunmin was much more cautious. He just listened silently and didn't say much. Sure enough, Duan Zijie sneered and said: "It's not that the bullying official is seriously ill, and the Queen Mother is on his side the most..." Tian Liewu couldn't help but nodded, and sighed: "Since Chen Duzhi was reprimanded by the Queen Mother, the people in the inner circle have changed the way they speak when they see King Yong. The Queen Mother's prestige is so high, whether it's the class guards or the maids, they all respect the Queen Mother." I really admire it. If it is really the empress dowager's will..." At this point, Tian Liewu shook his head again, and said: "But I never believe that with the empress dowager's wisdom, she would deliberately condone King Yong to do such a rebellious thing." "Actually, Sixth Brother is talented and intelligent, and he will become a generation of wise kings in the future. It's a pity that Brother Yang and I are just two redheads after all, and Mr. Cheng is a square gentleman. Seeing Sixth Brother being so slandered by others, we can only stare blankly, except Apart from being angry here, I can't think of a way out. Brother Duan, Hai Hai, and Mr. Cao, all three are knowledgeable and talented people..." Seeing Tian Liewu's self-blame, Li Dunmin couldn't help being moved from his heart.He also knew that Tian Liewu was not to blame for this. In this dynasty, the East Palace officials were originally set up very crudely, not to mention that the sixth brother was young, and it was even more impossible to set up all the officials.As Yang Shifang and Tian Liewu, loyalty and bravery can be relied on, but it is really difficult for them to deal with this kind of court struggle with Prince Zuofu.And now this matter is even more difficult.But sympathy belongs to sympathy. Although Li Dunmin is not a person who is afraid of things and dare not take responsibility, he is not as good as Tian Liewu and Duan Zijie. Although everyone here is inextricably linked with Shi Yue, Li Dunmin is the only one. It is Shi Yue's old friend and one of the real core officials of the so-called "Stone Party". From the heart, he is of course willing to participate in this matter and help Tian Liewu, but Li Dunmin also knows that such a major event, there is no formality in Shi Yue. Before expressing his position, his words and deeds must be measured.For Li Dunmin, since he encountered such a major event, he could neither be afraid to avoid it, nor speak casually to avoid being misunderstood. But Li Dunmin actually had a good impression of Tian Liewu. After pondering for a while, he still said: "General Tian is loyal, and I admire him very much. But in this matter, the general is a civil servant, so I'm afraid there is no good plan. There is no real evidence for this kind of thing. Even if it is useless to impeach King Yong from Taiwan..." At this point, he smiled wryly again, and said, "My rank is low, I am afraid that there will be a series of complaints from Taiwan, and I don't know." Li Dunmin spoke very euphemistically and vaguely, Tian Liewu, Wen Dayou and others didn't understand what he meant for a while, only Duan Zijie could hear clearly.He was quite happy when he heard about it, and he said bluntly: "What overseas is saying is the truth. If there is no real evidence to impeach King Yong in Taiwan, it is called 'separation of relatives', separating the royal family. Then Officials can manage politics, unless they are determined to deal with their own younger brother, otherwise they have to take into account the Queen Mother's feelings. What's more, officials can no longer manage politics... Don't talk about the rumors that the Queen Mother is still pampering King Yong. Whether the rumors are false or not, it would be extremely difficult for the Queen Mother to put her most beloved son to death. Even if this is the minister of the two governments, there is nothing he can do about it. There is no real evidence for the Taiwan remonstrance. King Yong should be humble and go up Biao argues and asks for another crime. The queen mother and officials have to comfort him with good words, but the impeached person will inevitably be demoted from the court. If King Yong is smarter, Shangbiao will save him by pretending to impeach him Man, isn't the reputation of this 'virtuous king' more solid? That's why this king of Yong dares to be confident." Duan Zijie said without hesitation that it would come out, but everyone understood it now.Tian Liewu and the others couldn't imagine the many sophistication involved, they were stunned for a while, and even Zhao Shizhong couldn't help sighing. Duan Zijie looked at Li Dunmin again, and said with a smile, "Overseas, am I wrong?" Everyone's eyes turned to Li Dunmin immediately, Li Dunmin smiled wryly in his heart, neither affirming nor denying, but said euphemistically: "The law of the ancestors, the succession of the throne, one is to establish a descendant instead of an elder, and choose a sage among the descendants. The first is the weight of the empress dowager and the two governments, especially the noble empress dowager. When Zhenzong succeeded to the throne, the prime minister made the most contribution; and when Renzong and Yingzong succeeded to the throne, there were queen dowagers. If it is true as General Tian said, the queen dowager will not If you don't have other intentions, the sixth elder brother's position is firmly established, and it would be a waste of effort to let him do all the tricks." The implication of this is a tacit acquiescence. "What if the rumor is true?" Zhao Shizhong couldn't help asking. Li Dunmin shook his head, just smiled and didn't answer.Duan Zijie glanced at Li Dunmin again, took the words, and said with a smile: "It depends on who can make up his mind, the two houses or the Queen Mother. If the two houses have no two hearts, the Queen Mother has nothing to do; if someone in the two houses wavers, then it's hard to say It's..." "In this way, we can only resign ourselves to fate?" Wen Dayou asked dissatisfied. At this time, Cao Youwen, who had been silent all this time, suddenly said lightly, "That's not necessarily the case." "Oh? What good strategy does Mr. Cao have?" Ma Shao couldn't help but look at Cao Youwen suspiciously.Although Tian Liewu treated Cao Youwen extremely politely, it was only natural for people like Ma Shao and others to despise Cao Youwen.Even Li Dunmin and Duan Zijie said there was no way to do it, but a mere businessman in this area suddenly said that there was a way, and everyone couldn't believe it. Cao Youwen didn't take it seriously, and said with a smile: "They can create public opinion and influence clear discussions, so can't we?" "Mr. Cao said..." Zhao Shizhong's eyes lit up. Cao Youwen glanced around at everyone, and said slowly: "I have no virtue or talent, but I am really touched by your loyalty. The sixth brother's position is not only related to the righteousness of the relationship between the monarch and his ministers, but also to the stability of the country's court. Although I am a merchant, If there is a chance to repay it, I dare not follow it. Based on my humble opinion, this matter of creating public opinion is nothing more than spending money. They can ask people to sing the play of brothers and sisters, can't we secretly invite people to sing the song of the traitor king seizing the throne Is it a drama that caused chaos in the world? They can say that Brother Six is ​​bad, so can't we say that Brother Six is ​​virtuous? As long as we do it skillfully, we will attribute all the rumors that Brother Six is ​​bad to the conspiracy of the Khitan people. It's not difficult..." But Tian Liewu and the others looked at each other after listening, but no one spoke.After a while, Zhao Shizhong tentatively said, "Where does this much money come from..." Cao Youwen smiled slightly and said: "If you can trust me, I can figure out a solution for this matter." For Cao Youwen, this is really a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.Of course he had no reason to miss it.