Traveling through Du He, Li Chengqian's rebellion begins

After the guard Feng Shijin left with the silver, Du He lowered the curtain and gave an order to Du Wu.

"Go back to the princess's house."

If he were to continue waiting here for Master Feng to come back, Cui Shenji would definitely take the silver back, and he would then have to argue with him, delaying his return trip.

"promise!"

Du Wu, who was in charge of driving the carriage, responded and immediately drove the carriage towards the north gate of Pingkangfang.

After a cup of tea.

Feng Shijin rode his horse and rushed over. He came to Du He's carriage and reported respectfully in a low voice.

"Master, Lord Cui has already accepted the silver."

"Mr. Cui refused to accept the money at first. After I conveyed your words to him and persuaded him, he finally accepted it!"

I originally thought that giving the silver was a simple task, but when I gave the silver to Cui Shenji, he refused to take it and even threatened me with words to take the silver back.

If the master hadn't given him advice in advance, he would probably have had no choice but to bring the silver back again.

If he can't even complete the small tasks assigned by the master, how can he accomplish big things for the master in the future?

Inside the carriage.

After hearing Master Feng's words, Du He, who was lying on the cushion, curled up the corners of his mouth into a smile.

He said softly, "Thank you for your hard work."

Feng Shijin quickly clasped his fists and replied, "My lord, this is not a hard job for me."

He had been a guard for so many years, but today was the first time that his master had invited him to drink and listen to music, and it was in a den of luxury like Baihua Tower.

When he left Baihua Tower, he asked Du Wu privately. The expenses for more than 30 people in two hours amounted to 3 guan.

This huge amount of money is enough for their income for most of the year.

On the way back to the princess's mansion.

Du Wu, who was driving the carriage, reported in a low voice: "Master, when I was guarding the Peach Blossom Fan room just now, I saw Fang Yiai and Chai Lingwu leaving the Hundred Flowers Tower."

"Fang Yiai glanced at the private room, and a murderous look appeared on his face. I don't know if it was directed at me or at you, Master."

The conflict between the master and Fang Yiai has not been going on for just one or two days, but it started several years ago. It's just that the conflict has become more serious in the past two years.

He himself had offended Princess Gaoyang in Huichang Temple a few days ago. As Princess Gaoyang's son-in-law, Fang Yiai would probably hold a grudge against him and Zhang Shizheng.

Faced with revenge from a figure like Fang Yiai, Du Wu did not have the confidence to stop it.

Hearing the unexpected news from Du Wu, Du He frowned slightly, and then whispered a warning.

"Du Wu, when we get back to the princess's mansion later, you and Zhang Shizheng will follow me to the study."

Although Du He and Li Yi had guessed in advance that the narrow-minded Princess Gao Yang would definitely ask Fang Yiai to retaliate, they did not know how they would do it.

After all, the enemy is in the dark and they are in the light.

In order to protect Du Wu and Zhang Shizheng, we can only remind them in advance.

Du Wu replied in a low voice: "As you wish."

Inside the carriage.

Du He was also frowning and thinking about how to deal with Fang Yiai, Gao Yang, and Monk Bian Ji, as well as the Buddhism behind Monk Bian Ji.

First of all, without the right opportunity, the fact that Princess Gaoyang had an affair with Monk Bian Ji could not be easily exposed.

If this scandal had simply been exposed, Li Shimin would have only beheaded the monk Ban Ji and the servants who knew about it, while Princess Gao Yang would have only been criticized.

As for Fang Yiai and their Fang family, at most they would just lose face. Li Shimin might even find a way to make up for the Fang family and let Fang Yiai take real power.

However, Buddhism, which Du He wants to deal with the most, will not be affected too much.

If one wants to deal with Buddhism, the best time is to wait for the large-scale construction of temples and for the temples to recruit Buddhist believers.

Only when Buddhism flourished and the drawbacks of temples amassing wealth and occupying land were exposed, did Du He have reasons to attack Buddhism.

At that time, he would take advantage of the fact that Monk Bian Ji seduced Princess Gao Yang to ignite Li Shimin's anger and completely suppress the rising Buddhism.

If the Li royal family, Xiao Yu and others tried their best to obstruct it, Du He also had reasons to persuade them.

I thought about it for a long time.

"Hey~"

Du He let out a long sigh.

He murmured helplessly: "We have to wait until Master Xuanzang comes back, that will be the most appropriate time!"

Buddhism is now only in the recovery stage. Although it has a large number of believers, it has not expanded rapidly and blindly, but has remained dormant quietly.

Considering the shortcomings currently exposed by temples, compared with their role in stabilizing the country, the advantages obviously outweigh the disadvantages.

Without the support of Li Shimin, destroying Buddhism was just Du He's wishful thinking.

Another moment passed.

The moving carriage slowly stopped, and Du Wu's voice soon came from outside.

"Master, we are back at the Princess's Mansion."

Du He woke up from his thoughts and got out of the carriage.

Standing on the shaft of the cart, feeling the weather was even colder than ever before, Du He couldn't help but wrap himself in a thick fur coat.

It's not even December yet, the coldest month, but the weather is already so cold. I wonder how many people living in the north have frozen to death.

Du He glanced at the guards who were shrinking their necks due to the cold, and then asked Du Wu who was wearing a bulky robe.

"Du Wu, the weather is so cold, how do your family survive the winter?"

Du Wu quickly responded, "Master, thanks to you, I have earned a lot of money. I bought warm robes for my wife and children at home."

"In addition, I also bought bedding for the winter and a lot of firewood for heating."

At that time, cotton had not yet been introduced to the Tang Dynasty. Rich officials and people from aristocratic families wore fur coats made of animal fur.

Ordinary scholars, merchants and people with better conditions wore robes made of double-layer linen.

The robe is filled with shredded linen, silk cotton, reed fluff and other things, which provides a good warmth-keeping effect.

As for the poorest ordinary people, they could not even afford to wear long robes and could only wear short brown clothes that were difficult to keep warm.

The 裋黑 is a short coat made of coarse cloth, which usually only covers the knees.

Du He nodded slightly, then asked, "What about the people whose conditions are worse?"

Du Wu replied in a low voice: "They can't afford robes and firewood, so they can only use some hay to keep warm."

"The weather is not too cold now, so it's not a big problem to stay at home. But if it gets colder, it will be useless to stay at home."

Feng Shijin, who was standing on the side, also spoke with a sad face.

"Master, every winter many people die of cold, especially those who have no clothes to wear and whose houses are dilapidated."

"In the second year of Zhenguan, my mother and brother died of cold in the winter during the famine."

Then the other guards told Du He about their miserable experiences.

After hearing what the guards had to say, Du He felt heavy-hearted.

Although the Tang Dynasty was extremely wealthy, it was only limited to a small number of princes, nobles and merchants, while the vast majority of people lacked food and clothing.

Even the most common firewood is a scarce resource.