Fu Tang

Li Congjia put the news on the case table, and couldn't help but said, "Is Zhou Guo sick?"

Shi Xueting was silent, not only he was silent, but even the cabinet ministers wanted to say: I am really sick.

Not only sick, but very sick!

They were split because of different political ideas before, but now they see that no one can win after the split. The Northern Zhou and the Southern Zhou negotiated, and they actually want to unify!

If I had known earlier, why did you split up today?The most important thing is that Li Congjia can think of a series of questions. For example, who was the emperor for the first time? In the confrontation of time, friends can become enemies, and their interests can be unified?

They dare say that Li Congjia can't believe it, and the unification of the two sides is a very important matter. It is estimated that the courts of the Northern and Southern Zhou dynasties will be arguing about this matter recently, so what about the Khitan side?

Does Bei Zhou know that the Khitans are still eyeing them now?Anyway, you should beat the Khitan people back first, and then discuss these things?

Li Congjia said with some headaches: "Forget it, they can toss and toss as they like. I don't believe that the people on both sides can really be harmonious and unified. By the way, keep an eye on the Khitan people's movements."

Li Congjia reckoned that Khitan would probably not give up such a good opportunity, but what surprised him was that Khitan really didn't take the opportunity to send troops.

Just when he was surprised, Shi Xueting came over and said, "People from Northern Zhou came to Datang and brought some news."

Li Congjia suddenly had a bad feeling in his heart: "What news?"

Shi Xueting's expression was also very serious: "Northern Zhou and Khitan have made peace."

Li Congjia asked: "Will Khitan agree?"

Shi Xueting pursed his lips and said: "The Northern Zhou Dynasty ceded all the land north of Xingzhou, Qizhou, and Qingzhou, and paid [-] taels of silver and gold."

At that moment, Li Congjia thought that there was something wrong with his ears, and asked incredulously, "What? What did you say?"

Shi Xueting repeated what he said just now, even if Li Congjia had a good temper, he couldn't help cursing: "Go to hell with me!"

Li Congjia really couldn't bear it, and he would only feel that both sides were crazy after the reunification in two weeks, but after surrendering to the Khitans and cede land and paying tribute, Li Congjia really took a lot of self-restraint without bombing.

What's the difference between this and bowing down?

What's even more deceitful is that Shi Jingtan offered the sixteen prefectures of Yanyun once, which has basically left no barriers in the north. After all, after passing the sixteen prefectures of Yanyun, there is a plain to the north, and there are some mountains in the east. Now it's good. The east side also donated part of it. Is this paving the way for Khitan to unify the Central Plains?

Li Congjia said very angrily: "Send someone to invite the cabinet ministers and the Privy Council to go to the Xuanzheng Hall!"

This matter needs to be discussed, among other things, even if they win the Northern Zhou and Southern Zhou in the future, they still have to face the serious trouble of Khitan.

Li Congjia remembered that throughout the history of the Northern Song Dynasty, the entire Northern Song Dynasty had fought against Yanyun Sixteen Prefectures, and had been fighting against Khitan. He didn't want the Great Tang to be reduced to the same level as the Northern Song Dynasty!

After Li Congjia expressed his thoughts, Li Jingda asked, "But what can we do if the Northern Zhou Dynasty sacrificed all?"

Li Congjia asked secretly, "Can you do damage?"

Zhou Zong coughed lightly: "Even if it is possible, it is a small way. What's more, if Bei Zhou sincerely submits to Khitan, we will obstruct it and annoy Khitan. It will only make Bei Zhou give up more land, and the gain will outweigh the loss."

Li Congjia's face was so dark that he finally said: "Let people set up more horse farms on the Hetao side and start training cavalry!"

Li Jingda asked: "Don't we have cavalry?"

Li Congjia shook his head: "Most of our previous cavalry were from the Western Regions. It is unrealistic for them to come to the Central Plains or go to Khitan for a long time to fight. However, our cavalry... is still a little bit behind compared to Khitan. Most of them are infantry on horseback. , in short, the focus now is to train the cavalry, um... the project of the Daming Palace... it's better to stop, there may be no way to send money to the craftsmen in a short time."

Li Congjia is also very regretful, why are there so many things to do to build a Daming Palace?Or does God also think that he is not suitable to be enthroned and proclaimed emperor now?

Shi Xueting could more or less guess what Li Congjia was thinking, and after everyone had dispersed, he said, "Good things take time, not to mention that there is still money to build the palace."

Li Congjia was a little surprised: "Where is it?"

Shi Xueting took his hand and said, "I have."

Li Congjia immediately shook his head and said, "No, rebuilding the Daming Palace is not a small matter, and this is connected with rebuilding Chang'an City. The amount needed is definitely not small. How can I let you pay?"

Shi Xueting asked: "Do you think that the people near Chang'an are very poor?"

Li Congjia thought about it seriously and said, "I don't think it's particularly poor, but they all look like ordinary people. What's wrong?"

Shi Xueting said calmly: "These days the sesame oil money I received has to catch up with Datang's tax revenue for half a year."

Li Congjia looked at him in shock. Shi Xueting now has two sites, one is the National Teacher's Mansion, and the other is the White Horse Temple. Many monks and abbots died in order to protect the people before the temple that experienced war and chaos. They came here At that time, there was only one young novice monk left in the White Horse Temple. Shi Xueting took pity on that little novice monk, and in order to promote the righteous deeds of the White Horse Temple, he also served as the abbot of the White Horse Temple.

Naturally, the matter of returning to vulgarity can only be postponed. He is so famous that many people wanted to see him before but couldn't get it. Now that they finally found a way, they donated money desperately. More often than not, the rich have other goals, after all Shi Xueting can see the beauty of the sky.

People said it was sesame oil money, and Shi Xueting couldn't refuse it directly. After just a few months, Shi Xueting was a little frightened when he counted the sesame oil money.

It seems that in troubled times, it is ordinary people who are more affected.

After hearing this, Li Congjia asked very vigilantly: "Do these people want to ask you to do something? You can't ask for this money, and we won't agree to their request."

Li Congjia thought very clearly, since these people approached Shi Xueting in such a devious way, things must be difficult, and Li Congjia did not want to open the back door for them at all.

Shi Xueting asked: "Why can't it be used? Can they get it if they want it? They also said that it is sesame oil money. Since it is sesame oil money, it is a tribute to the Buddha to express their respect for the Buddha. As for me Whatever they do is out of their control.”

Li Congjia was stunned by his rascal, and he said after a long while: "If people like you know, I'm afraid they won't come to contribute sesame oil money to you again."

Shi Xueting was relatively indifferent: "Isn't it a good time not to come? Are you worried that they will let me intercede with you?"

Li Congjia is still a little entangled. Since he started his family, he has used Shi Xueting's money to persist. After all, that treasure was left to him by his ancestors. Now it is probably not easy for Shi Xueting to save some private money. Used it, Shi Xueting is similar to Qingfeng with two sleeves, Li Congjia couldn't bear it.

Knowing what he was thinking, Shi Xueting said: "Even if you can borrow it from me, if you have any surplus in the future, you can return it to me."

Li Congjia tilted his head and looked at him: "What if it's not up yet?"

Shi Xueting smiled meaningfully: "Then it can only be paid by people."

Li Congjia also smiled: "Then you lost it, wouldn't it be yours long ago?"

Shi Xueting sighed: "Just say this to you, and I am willing to build a palace for you."

The main reason is that Shi Xueting felt a sense of satisfaction when he thought that the place where Li Congjia lived was built with his money. No amount of money can exchange this kind of satisfaction.

Li Congjia asked: "Tell me, I said before that I would stop building the Daming Palace, but now I'm starting to rebuild it again. Isn't that a bit of a contradiction? And I need to train cavalry, but the money is used to build the palace..."

Shi Xueting raised his eyebrows and said, "I'll use my money to build it, anyone who dares to have an opinion can come to me."

Li Congjia silently gave him a thumbs up. This is really a good way, because Shi Xueting's money is his own. At most, everyone is just persuading him to give it to the country, but it cannot be compelled.

However, a discordant voice soon filled Li Congjia's ears: Some people below thought that Shi Xueting was accumulating too much money, relying on his status as a national teacher to do whatever he wanted.

Shi Xueting was also a bachelor, so he stood up and said: "The sesame oil money is recorded in a special account, if anyone feels regretful, they can take it back."

As soon as this sentence came out, it was not good for those who said sour words before to continue, because those who had rolled up the sesame oil money began to scold them. After all, whether they are believers or have other purposes, they will definitely not be donated again. Take it back, not to mention donate everything, and then take it back, isn't this offending people?

Shi Xueting had a lot of money in his hands, and even calmed down a storm.

However, Li Congjia knew that since some people were not used to it, they would find trouble with Shi Xueting sooner or later. Shi Xueting was not a real Buddha, so he pissed him off... Li Congjia was really worried that Shi Xueting would destroy his whole family in a fit of anger. In fact, monks sometimes have very crooked views.

But this time it was difficult for him to come forward, so he could only let those people spread rumors about how arrogant and domineering the national teacher was, and some people who didn't know the truth believed that some censors actually took the opportunity to impeach Shi Xueting.

After Li Congjia got the papers, he scolded these people on the spot, and then made it clear: "The national teacher is not considered in the court sequence, even if you join him, you don't want to be one, and from the beginning to the present , The national teacher has never received a penny of salary, all of you ginseng should think about it first, if you want to get rid of his title, it’s okay, let’s calculate the salary according to the treatment of the Duke of the state, and calculate how much you owe?"

After the censors heard this, before they had time to argue with Li Congjia, they were sprayed back by the Ministry of Accounting. The Ministry of Accounting recently saw the money flowing out, and they were all worried and distressed. If they hadn’t cheated Bei Zhouyi before Bo, Hubu has already jumped to his feet and cried poorly, now... what?Do you want to supplement the salary of the national teacher?Even if there are not many, mosquito legs are still meat, so if you can save it, you must save it!

The censor did not dare to offend the household department, or the censor who dared to offend the household department did not show up at all this time, but through this incident, they once again confirmed that Li Congjia really believed in Shi Xueting.

For the people who don't know the truth, Zhou Ye and Yang Xin just want to shake them and wake them up. Even with the relationship between Li Congjia and Shi Xueting, it is impossible for him to believe that Shi Xueting is really here under the banner of the national teacher. Going against the law outside, not to mention that Shi Xueting used all the money in his hand to rebuild the Daming Palace!

Li Congjia looked around the court and said only one sentence: "Nowadays there are many foreign troubles. I hope I don't cause a lot of internal troubles by looking for troubles when I have nothing to do. How powerful was the state of Zhou at the beginning? Now it can only bow to the Khitan in order to survive for a while. The Khitan wolf is ambitious. , Will they stop here? No, they just need some time to recuperate, and when they recover, the Khitan cavalry will set foot in the Central Plains again, so you have to think about what to do."

Everyone was bowed by Li Congjia's words. In fact, Li Congjia also knew that there was no way to avoid such things as political struggle. What about the seat?Simple, just pull people down.

Li Congjia can't manage this kind of thing, and he can't ask everyone to make selfless dedication, regardless of personal gains and losses. He only hopes that these people will think more about the country and the overall situation when they do things, so that even if everyone is fighting, Datang will not fall apart. .

Li Congjia was very worried, and he became less and less confident in himself. He was always wondering whether he could manage such a large country well. When he thought about it, he knew some historical data. From a macro perspective, he could tell every Some political shortcomings of the dynasty, but that is only from a historical point of view, if it really falls into real life, even if he knows that many systems are very advanced, he cannot use them.

After all, the times are here. If he nationalizes most of the land, what awaits him is the next round of peasant uprisings.

Li Congjia frowned, Shi Xueting looked at it and said: "Don't worry, they can't do anything to me."

Li Congjia shook his head: "It's not because of this, but because I feel that... I can't do what I want. The country is getting bigger and bigger, and there are more and more things to manage, but I didn't know these things before."

Shi Xueting said: "It doesn't matter whether you know it or not, there are still too few people. Although the cabinet ministers are not bad, they are all old. The six ministers...many of them are mediocre people, such as Zhao Pu and his like. It will take a few more years of experience to get to the top, and there will be a blank period in between.”

Li Congjia sighed: "Yes, why is it so difficult to find talents?"

Shi Xueting smiled slightly: "It's not too difficult, maybe it will be soon."

Li Congjia asked: "Are you talking about the imperial examination? Although Chunwei is about to open, what these candidates have to do after they are selected is to observe the court first and learn how to be an official. They will not be useful in a short time."

Shi Xueting shook his head and said: "No, someone came to defect to Datang."

Li Congjia asked, "Who?"

Shi Xueting said: "There are several, you must know one of them, Fan Zhi."

Li Congjia stared suddenly: "Wait... Who are you talking about? Fan Zhi? Is it the Fan Zhi I know?"

Shi Xueting asked: "How many Northern Zhou Fanzhis are there in the world?"

Li Congjia wiped his face and said, "This news is so sudden, it can't be fake, right? Don't lie to me! I will take it seriously!"

Shi Xueting couldn't laugh or cry: "How dare I lie to you about this kind of thing?"

Li Congjia asked, "Why did Fan Zhi come to Southern Tang?"

Shi Xueting said: "Your Highness is very angry with Bei Zhou's actions. As prime minister, Fan Zhi must be even more chilled. He has always been the main fighter against the Khitan, but this time he lost to the main peace faction. I'm afraid he will feel bitter and respond accordingly. There are also many Northern Zhou courtiers who left the Northern Zhou Dynasty and wanted to come to the Tang Dynasty. After all, the relatively powerful regime in the Central Plains is now the Tang Dynasty.

After thinking about it, Li Congjia didn't think it was very strange. It is not easy to ask people to be loyal in troubled times, not to mention that Fan Zhi and the others are probably really disheartened, otherwise how could they have left Northern Zhou?

Of course, there is also a possibility that these people lost the right to speak during the integration of the Southern Zhou Dynasty and the Northern Zhou Dynasty.

In fact, it is very simple to think about it. The strength of the Southern Zhou Dynasty is not as good as that of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, so it has been suppressed all the time. However, now the Northern Zhou Dynasty has been fighting with the Khitan, and the Southern Zhou Dynasty has provoked the Tang Dynasty. For the Southern Zhou Dynasty and the Northern Zhou Dynasty, both were considered giants, so the two sides decided to reunite into one, just to fight against the Tang Dynasty and the Khitan.

However, when the Northern Zhou was fighting against the Khitan, it was considered a serious injury. The current situation is that the Southern Zhou is stronger, so the officials of the Southern Zhou have the upper hand, and it is reasonable for the officials of the Northern Zhou to be made things difficult.

In this case, it is natural to go.

After Li Congjia figured it out, he asked, "Who else will come besides Fan Zhi? Although Fan Zhi is indeed good, he is not too young."

Li Congjia clearly remembered that if Fan Zhi's lifespan hadn't been taken by the butterfly, it would have been two years. Li Congjia didn't want to promote a person with great difficulty and then die, and he had to look for talents again.

However, it is said that Fan Zhi's son, Fan Min, is also very talented, so he should be able to use it.

Shi Xueting didn't know the details, but said: "It is said that besides Fan Zhi, there are also Liu Wensou, Zheng Renhai, and Wang Shen."

Li Congjia couldn't help beaming with joy when he heard that, but Fan Zhi is very famous. Liu Wensou and Zheng Renhai were also the founding heroes of the Song Dynasty in history. Incorruptible but not pedantic, Northern Zhou was able to deal with Khitan for so long before, thanks to the support of these ministers, now that these people leave, it is uncertain what will become of Northern Zhou.

And these people are willing to come to Datang, Li Congjia really wants to welcome them backwards, hey, there is no way, it all depends on the good foil of his peers.

It's just that Wang Min... Li Congjia doesn't like this person very much. Speaking of which, his father is actually very powerful, that is, Wang Pu who wrote "Ping Bian Ce". Li Congjia only remembers that in history, he once called out to provoke Yang Ye to send troops, but he failed to rescue him in time, which led to Yang Ye's defeat and suicide.

And Yang Ye... is Yang Jixing, the general of the Yang family in the play.

However, he could not show his rejection of Wang Min. After all, there is such a father, and he deserves some courtesy. However, Li Congjia decided to be careful not to send this person to the Privy Council. This kind of person who doesn't understand military affairs at all can't tell the generals what to do.

When he thought of Wang Min, he thought of Yang Ye. Li Congjia counted with his fingers and found that Yang Ye was still serving as his envoy of the Jianxiong Army in the Northern Han Dynasty. He couldn't help writing a letter to Gao Huaide, asking him to try his best to recruit Yang Ye. After the Northern Han Dynasty surrendered to the Northern Song Dynasty, Yang Ye surrendered to the Song Dynasty. In the Tang Dynasty, it should be...it doesn't matter, right?

When Li Congjia was thinking about how to bring such a general back home, Nanhan, who had been hopeless and in a hurry before, came first with the news.

After Pan Mei arrived there, she assembled local generals and soldiers. After more than two months of training, she decided to send troops to attack the Southern Han Dynasty. In fact, it was logically said that this was a hasty move. Han hurried away.

And most of the generals under him came here in obedience, and they also wanted to make some contributions to show their loyalty to the court, and the two sides hit it off, so they sent troops.

At first, Pan Mei was still a little nervous, but she didn't expect that Nanhan's side would be... self-defeating!

After Liu Yu got the news, he ordered the witch Fan Huzi to send people to attack. As a result, he never expected that the soldiers of the Southern Han Dynasty would be beaten to death at the first meeting. After all, with such a wonderful monarch, the army of the Southern Han Dynasty was also horrific. .

After Liu Yu realized that he could not beat the Tang Dynasty at all, he picked more than a dozen ships, filled them with gold, silver and jewels, and prepared to flee with his concubines, but before he could escape, the ships were stolen by the eunuchs, maids, and guards whom he believed deeply. !

Liu Wei was dumbfounded when he saw it. He couldn't escape without a boat. In desperation, Liu Wei had no choice but to surrender.

Li Congjia couldn’t help feeling that the way was exactly the same as in history. No matter how big his butterfly wings were, there would always be someone who would not be affected and continue his own death trajectory. The only difference is that in history, the Southern Han Dynasty surrendered to the Northern Song Dynasty, while Now it is surrender to Datang.

Although Liu Wei surrendered, Li Congjia still issued an order to tell Pan Mei not to come back in a hurry, but to lead people to find those boats for him first!

After all, all the ships were loaded with gold, silver and jewels. The Nanhan Dynasty allowed Liu Wei to do this, and the abundance of the treasury was not comparable to that of the Tang Dynasty. How could Li Congjia watch these gold, silver and jewels slip from his hands?