the enlightener says

Li Qiuhuang sighed, the aura around him seemed to be in a mess, he said: "At the beginning when you were appointed Minister of the Household Department, it was because you were old and prudent, and you were a clean official, thinking that you would not be a person who pocketed a lot of money. But now? Withholding military rations and daring to cut off the supply of medicine and salt, is this how you repay your kindness? You are 71 years old this year, and you can be regarded as a veteran of the three dynasties. Even if you move the entire treasury home, how many days can you enjoy it? And you Your children... you give them this money, not for their good, but for their harm."

Pei Ji knelt on the ground, kowtowed repeatedly, big tears dripped from his muddy old eyes, but he couldn't say any excuses after all, he just kept repeating: "I'm ashamed of my lord, I'm guilty."

Li Qi looked at Pei Ji who was kneeling on the ground, shook his head lightly, and said, "You don't have to be harsh on Mr. Pei, the officialdom is like this. Even though Mr. Pei is the secretary of the household department, he can't stop those people from constantly Reach out for money. Even if he doesn't give it, so what? If you don't give it today, if you don't give it tomorrow, those people will make excuses in the court, replace him, and just find someone who will. Mr. Pei has worked hard to manage the household department for many years How much money has been raised and saved for my country of Tang? It is obvious to all. That is to say, with an old man like Mr. Pei in charge of the household department, the treasury of Tang country can still maintain the old state. If it is someone else, hmph... only I am afraid that the current national treasury has already become an empty shell."

He looked at the person who was sitting on the seat with his eyes half closed and seemed to be in deep thought, and said coldly, "Am I right? Lord Wang?"

This official with half-closed eyes and a calm face is naturally the right servant She Wang Yun who has been fighting against Cai Yong for many years.

Although he is much younger than Pei Ji, he is also a veteran of two dynasties, but before Yang Taizhen promoted him, he was just a servant of the official department. His position has been the same for ten years without any change.

His colleagues in the official department thought that his life was nothing more than this, perhaps, even he himself thought so.

But after Yang Taizhen came to power, relying on his distant blood relationship with Yang Taizhen, his official position seemed to have wings. In just a few years, he had already sat on the right servant's position, causing an uproar in the officialdom of the Tang Dynasty.

Chapter 294

Many people said that if the person sitting on the left servant wasn't Cai Yong, they were afraid that the seat would fall to Wang Yun sooner or later and become the most powerful official in the Tang Kingdom.

But even though he is still serving as the right servant, standing behind him is Yang Taizhen. His power is getting bigger and bigger day by day, and he has a vague tendency to overwhelm Cai Yong.

"I don't know... what General Li wants me to answer? I always act according to the law, and I dare not go beyond the slightest bit." Wang Yun stood up, still with that unsalty expression on his face.

Many officials of Cai Yong's faction scoffed at him when they saw him like this: They are all dying, and they are still pretending to be calm?Since you are shouting "Qing Jun's side", do you think that after Yang Taizhen's death, what good life will you, Wang Yun, have?

Li Qi's eyes were like knives, and he cut Wang Yun's face point by point: "The laws of the Tang Dynasty? Then I'm curious, which one of the laws of the Tang Dynasty made you instruct the Ministry of Households to withhold military rations? It's the Tang Dynasty again. Which piece of the law allows you to sell your official position? And which piece of the law of the Tang Dynasty makes you form a party for personal gain?"

Wang Yun didn't look at him, and said softly: "General Li's words, I still don't understand. Indeed, I have discussed with me about the money and food of the household department, but as a right servant, I have the responsibility to manage the government and control the officials. It is not an act of exceeding authority to discuss with the Ministry of Households to control money and food. As for the issue of insufficient military rations, the Ministry of Households only distributes according to the amount originally planned by the military department. , isn't it justifiable? This is also something that can't be helped..."

"As for the sale of official positions, since I am in the Ministry of Finance, I naturally have the responsibility to select talents for the country. It is normal to promote officials, but I have never received half a bribe from them. It is even more out of the question of forming a party for personal gain, but it is just the relationship between officials. Be more intimate, make an appointment to play chess and fish in private...how did it get into the mouth of General Li Qi, all of these are using power for personal gain?"

He spoke extremely calmly, and his words were very reasonable. In the end, he even took a clean look at Pei Ji. If someone who doesn't understand the inside situation hears it, he may really think that Li Qi's accusation is groundless. .

"It's worthy of being shot by the right servant, so eloquent." Li Qi sneered and said, "Can you use the amount of money and food drafted by the military department as an example? But why didn't you mention a word about the tactics drafted by the military department? It was clearly discussed at the beginning. The two armies attacked Jingwu from two directions, broke through the city all the way from the east to the west, and controlled the surrounding areas at the same time. They used war to support and supply the army with rations, and finally merged under the city of Jingzhou, which was [-] miles away from Jianye. veto?"

"The amount of money and rations drawn up by the military was originally based on this method of warfare. The court wants us to divide the army into multiple routes, so the demand for food, herbs and medicinal materials will naturally change accordingly. Mr. Wang only focuses on the original figures. What is the intention? Aren't you afraid that those dead soldiers will fall asleep in the middle of the night?"

"As for selling official positions and forming cliques for personal gain, everyone in the court knows about such things. I am a military commander, not a civil servant... I did not lead the troops to the palace today to argue with people like you."

Li Qi took his gaze away from him, looked at the king, and knelt down suddenly: "Please ask the king to eradicate the traitor, demote the demon concubine, and reorganize the state affairs!"

Li Qi is a member of the army, and he has the energy and blood to cultivate himself. This sound is like a torrent of bells. At this moment, he seems to have exhausted all the strength in his body... Although he is begging, even though he is kneeling, at this moment he But it came with the coercion of the [-] soldiers outside the palace!

Li Qiuhuang looked at Li Qi condescendingly, his anger gradually faded from his face, leaving only a little tiredness, he sighed softly: "Really? Do you think so...you..."

He stood up, looked around the hall, and met the silent eyes of countless courtiers, who seemed to be waiting for something.

He looked back at the glittering golden throne, which was covered with a soft cushion embroidered with gold and silver threads, and the armrest was inlaid with countless jewels and jade... Once upon a time, Li Qiuhuang looked up to this position very much, he When I was young, I would often sneak into this hall and touch it quietly for a while before the cleaners came.

And when he really sat in this seat, in those years he was also very high-spirited, wishing he could command all parties with one word, so that everything in the world would be overshadowed by his demeanor, and the sun, moon and stars would hide deep in the clouds because of fear of his majesty. .

Now, looking at these courtiers who have their own thoughts, he is only tired, even when he is drunk, he is not so tired.

Everyone flattered him as a "poetry fairy" and a "wine fairy", but wouldn't it be nondescript to let a "poetry fairy" sit on the throne?

"Father... this position is really lonely." Li Qiuhuang looked up at the beautiful carvings on the top of the treasure, and said to himself.

But he suddenly laughed out loud, waved his sleeves, and said, "Who else, who else thinks the same as Li Qi? There's no need to hide at this time, it's better to stand up."

All the officials were in a commotion, hesitating and not knowing how to respond.

But Cai Yong stood up slowly. In his eyes, Cai Xiang had already left the seat. The two of them lined up behind Li Qi. Treacherous and sycophant, re-government."

"My lord, please get rid of the traitors and manage the government again." Cai Xiang followed suit and knelt down.

As soon as the two men knelt down, all the officials were stunned. Until now, they still don't know that Cai Yong's "military remonstrance" was originally written by Cai Yong, but after he knelt down, countless officials also stood up and knelt neatly All over the place, they said in unison: "Ministers and others—please invite the country to take charge of the government."

Cai Yong served as Zuo Servant for many years, and he was also a veteran of the three dynasties. Needless to say, his prestige is more than half.

But today Li Qi has brought [-] soldiers to the outside of the palace. With such power, even many of the previous scumbags can't help but fall to Cai Yong's side. In their opinion, if they can really force the king to clean up today Yang Taizhen and his henchmen, wouldn't there be countless vacancies in the court all of a sudden?

At that time, those who are capable will come, and no one can say that it will be their turn, but it is difficult for them to say that they are supporting Cai Yong at this time. On the surface, they have to clearly show that they are supporting the king. If they don't stand up now, when the building collapses later, they will be branded as "Yang Taizhen faction" for no reason. I'm afraid even gods won't be able to save them.

Since it is a military remonstrance... In fact, whether the lord agrees or not is no longer a question.

……

Qin Ke, who was about to fall asleep, seemed to vaguely hear the sound of footsteps on the roof. He was always alert, so he immediately opened his eyes and sat up from the bed.

And when he took a deep breath and unfolded the Wind Sight technique, every step of the man on the roof fell into his ears, without any reservations.

But what made him a little strange was that the man on the roof didn't look like a professional. Not to mention his sloppy steps, he stepped on the tiles of the roof with heavy feet and light feet. If he was a practitioner... no Yes, definitely not.

The technique of seeing the wind made Qin Ke even hear the breathing of that person, and he was out of breath after walking a few steps?It seems that in terms of physical fitness, this person should be an ordinary person, not even as good as Jing Yu's men.

While thinking this way, Qin Ke carefully opened the window and door, flicked his legs lightly, jumped out of the window like a cat, held the eaves of the house with one hand, and then exerted light force, his legs went up to the roof.

"Cai Yan?"

Standing still on the roof, Qin Ke saw clearly that it was Cai Yan who had difficulty walking on the tiles.

Of course, it is said that one foot is deep and one foot is shallow, but she has always maintained her body balance, and there is no sign of falling. Judging from her dexterity, it is obvious that this is not the first time she has been in the room. She moves skillfully and agile.

Qin Ke couldn't help laughing, and shouted from a distance: "You really like going to the house."

Cai Yan raised his head slightly, and said angrily to Qin Ke: "I saw it, so why don't you know how to give me a hand? The roof tiles are too soft, and they are easy to break if you don't step on them properly. It's really troublesome."

Qin Ke couldn't help laughing, thinking that this was the reason why she seemed to be struggling?

But since she said so, I always have to go up and help her.

He took a few steps lightly, stretched out a hand, and took Cai Yan's smooth and slender fingers. Cai Yan did not shy away from using a little force, and the two hands were tightly clenched together.

With such a grip, Qin Ke thought again when he and Cai Yan were running in the streets and alleys, that warm and jade-like hand, the sweat that oozes from the violent running...

Chapter 295 The Starry Sky Is Brilliant

Qin Ke shook his head, threw those messy thoughts out of his mind, and suddenly exerted force, and Cai Yan jumped to his side.

After the heavy rain washed the roof, although there were some withered and fallen leaves, it also washed away the dust between the original tiles.

Cai Yan did not wear the dressy dress she had when she came out of the Cai Mansion, but a very plain cotton dress that Jing Yu entrusted someone to buy. She simply tidied up her long hair and removed those Expensive hairpins, jewelry, earlobes, and no earrings.

She sat down very simply, holding her knees with her hands, as if she didn't care about the water stains on the roof at all.

The night sky after the rain cleared away the thick clouds, the moonlight was bright and the stars were shining brightly, and her deep eyes also reflected the starlight all over the sky. Her body was curled up like a lazy cat resting on the roof.

"Sit down. You're here, watch the stars with me for a while." Cai Yan asked calmly, "Are you...can't sleep either?"

Qin Ke smiled wryly, picked up a dead leaf on Cai Yan's body, and sat down, saying: "I just heard a sound from the roof, so I came up to have a look, who knew it was you, the 'gentleman on the beam' .”

Hearing Qin Ke's description, Cai Yan grinned, showing her white teeth, and said, "I'm very good at it. I've loved climbing on the roof of my house since I was a child. Every time I get upset, I'll climb on it." It will be hidden on the roof, and the whole family will not be able to find it."

"I see." Seeing her self-boasting appearance, Qin Ke couldn't help laughing, "You are skillful in your movements and light in your steps. If you know how to practice, you must be a female snitch."

"Is the female snitch bad?" Cai Yan squinted her eyes and smiled, "Or do you prefer that I am the eldest lady of the Cai family, dressed in gold and silver with a face full of pink, and leading the servants to boss me around?"

"Of course not." Qin Ke knew that the "like" she said was not the kind of emotion between a man and a woman, so he covered his mouth and smiled, "It's just a bit of a surprise, the house in Cai's mansion is so high, you dare to climb it, and you're not afraid of falling ?”

"My father said that I was reincarnated as a wild cat." Cai Yan looked at the moon, "I was not afraid of heights when I was young, and I never fell off the roof once. But every time I went on the roof, he was still anxious like It's an ant in a hot pot, yelling for someone to come up and catch me."

She wrinkled her nose triumphantly: "Where can they catch me? Everyone on the roof is trembling, let alone running to catch me... that is, Jin Bo and my brothers are fine. By the way, you Have you met Kimber? He is an old servant of our family."

"I've seen it before." Qin Ke nodded, thinking that besides guarding the door, the seemingly indifferent old concierge of Cai's mansion also had another duty to go to the house to arrest his own eldest lady?

"In fact, sometimes I just go up to the roof to look at the stars... My mother, she had a strange disease when I was a child, and it couldn't be cured, and my father could only watch her weaken day by day." Cai Yan said: "She On the night of my death, I was only five years old. I thought that my mother was only going to a faraway place. If she didn’t take me there, I felt wronged and cried very sadly. My mother wiped away my tears and said to me, ‘Xiao Yan Good boy, mother is going to the sky...but only adults can go to the sky, you are still young, you should spend more time with your father and brothers, okay'? I couldn't say no, so she said, mother Just go to the sky, not too far away, you look at the stars in the sky, and when your mother goes to the sky, you will become one of them, when you look at the stars, you can see your mother, and your mother can also see you ,OK?"

"I agreed that day." The breeze blew Cai Yan's hair, and she smiled softly, "So since then I like to watch the stars, even when I grow up, I know that it is impossible for a person to become a star, but I still like it."

Qin Ke nodded slightly, he didn't know that Cai Yan had such a past, looked at the stars all over the sky, and said softly: "Actually... the old people in my village also said that, people who die will become heavenly Star."

"Do you believe it? Don't they all lie to children?" Cai Yan said with a smile: "But... when you are unhappy, look at the stars, and your heart will be much calmer."

"What's wrong with you?" Qin Ke looked at her profile, a little confused.

Cai Yan shook his head and said, "I'm just a little worried."

"Worried?" Qin Ke touched his head, "What are you worried about? Worried about things in the palace?"

Cai Yan turned her head and met Qin Ke's eyes. What she read from those clear eyes was puzzlement and confusion. At the same time, she also understood that Qin Ke didn't know the chaos in the palace. In fact, it was her father, Cai Yan. Yong's single-handed plan.

She pursed her lips and smiled, and said: "It's nothing, by the way... tell me, what did you meet in the palace? Isn't it interesting to sneak into the palace alone?"

Qin Ke was slightly startled, thinking of everything in the palace, thinking of the old man, thinking of the dead bandit, he laughed: "Interesting...how do I start with this, it's not interesting, but it's a lot of shock."

"Hmm..." Cai Yan thought for a while, and said: "Then let's not talk about this, talk about something else, and continue what we didn't finish last time in Jiuxianju. Jingwu and the Mo family still have Canghai, tell me Speak."

"Jing Wu and the Mo family..." Qin Ke started to have a headache again. In fact, he had already talked about the thing in his stomach as early as when he was in Jiuxianju. A well-informed person, in summer, he was still basking in the sun on the ridge of the fields in Daoxiang Village. What would he use to comment on the general trend of the world?

But thinking about it this way, Qin Ke is not very good at rejecting such "requests". He can only try to dig out some things from his not-so-full mind. Already inferior a lot.

Cai Yan didn't really care much, just held his chin in both hands, stared at the stars in the sky, nodded occasionally, and said something like "what's next", "what's next", "is there any more"... such words.

Today, she was obviously not very attentive, and later she simply let Qin Ke continue talking, and she no longer responded, with her head resting on her knees, staring blankly at a starry sky, her eyes narrowed slightly, as if she was not asleep .

There was a strand of restless hair on her forehead, fluttering slightly in the wind.

Qin Ke didn't know the connection between what happened in the palace and Cai Yong, Gao Yishui didn't have time to tell him.

But at least he slowly felt that under Cai Yan's eccentric appearance, there was a worried heart.

He stopped his narration and asked instead: "If...you have something on your mind, would you like to tell me?"

"No." Cai Yan was still curled up, with a calm voice, "That's fine."

Qin Ke nodded, didn't speak again, just sat quietly with her, both of them looked up at the sky, silent.

The cool wind at night passed through the gap between the shoulders of the two of them. Just when Qin Ke felt that the starlight in front of him was a little dim, and he wanted to fall asleep in a daze, he suddenly felt a mass of warmth sticking to his shoulders. .

He turned his head in a daze, Cai Yan's satin-like long hair trembled slightly under the tip of his nose, it was cold, but not cold, it made him itchy.

"I'm a little cold." Cai Yanweng said in an authentic voice.

"Otherwise... go back to sleep?"

"No."

"Then, shall I go down and get the bedding?"

After speaking, he was about to get up, but Cai Yan put his hands on his shoulders, shook his head and said, "No."

Qin Ke looked at her serious eyes, didn't know what to say, finally sighed, sat with peace of mind, and volunteered to be her a human pillow.

There are mountains outside Ding'an City, stretching for hundreds of miles. It is an excellent hunting place for the nobles in Ding'an City. Over the years, with the urgency of the war, the Tang Dynasty has gradually raised the martial arts style, and the number of natural hunting has also increased. .

It's just that in such a big night and just after a heavy rain, no one would run out to hunt in the cold wind at such a time, so under the shining of the stars, this mountain was rarely stained with tranquility and peace.

Even though the torrential rain could extinguish the flames and cool the body temperature, it could not crush the weeds swaying in the wind in the wilderness.

These stubborn and tenacious creatures have been multiplying in this land for many years, even in the dry season, they still take root in the land and refuse to die.

At this moment, they are growing vigorously with the nourishment of rain and dew, facing the starlight all over the sky, and dancing with the falling dew.

There are deer licking the weeds growing on the land, looking leisurely.

But soon, the sound of iron hoofs shattered the dew and trampled the upright weeds. The smoke and horseshoes interweaved into a series of torrents, which rumbled and rolled over. The wild deer fled in fright and disappeared into the forest...

Chapter 296 Cavalry!

On the tower of Ding'an City, the old man on duty held a torch and looked out of the city, his eyes flickering. After the rain, the whole wilderness outside the city was filled with a thin layer of mist, although it did not affect his eyesight, but For some reason, he was always a little uneasy.

The mist...like the billowing smoke and dust from the trampling of horseshoes, it keeps moving in this direction.

"Lieutenant, what's the matter?" Right beside him, a sergeant with a spear came over, straightening his armor as he walked.

The old Zhangtou looked at him, smiled, and said: "Maybe it's an old problem. When there is a slight disturbance, you feel that there is a surprise attack by an army."

"How could this be? This is Ding'an City. Where did the army come to attack? Even Gao Changgong of Jingwu and the eight thousand Qingzhou ghost riders couldn't come here. Could it be the heavenly soldiers and generals?" The sergeant with the spear Laughing with him, he knows that the captain is a veteran who has been in the army for more than 30 years. Although he has only become a captain today, he has a lot of stories in his stomach. Everyone likes to hear him talk about the wars in the past time matter.

In fact, it was not surprising that he behaved like this tonight.

They were not the sergeants guarding the city gate, but General Li Qi's subordinates. Since they wanted to remonstrate, while controlling all the officials, they naturally had to control the entire Ding'an City, and the city gate was the most important thing.

The turmoil tonight was not only unexpected by the officials in the palace, even the small soldiers who did it themselves were completely unexpected.

The [-] Ding'an Army, originally under Li Qi's control, was the most important force defending the royal city. However, just tonight, they suddenly became rebellious. Not only did they take control of Ding'an City, they even broke into the palace Inside, to do the thing that forced the palace...

Remonstrance?

That is an argument that only the victors are qualified to use. If they lose, all of them will be charged with coercion and treason.

But it's useless to think too much. The big shots above are fighting, and only those big shots can win or lose. These little pawns are just obeying orders.