Gu Qingci

Rongcheng is not a young city.

Even though there are thousands of years, there are eight wastelands, the context and dragon spirit have lasted here for hundreds of years, it has always stood in the center of the Yanhuang Continent, and has never wavered.

You can see the traces of time from the whitish stone bricks on the city wall and the thick moss under the shade of the trees, and you can also feel the flow of time from the deep and endless alleys and the majestic palace buildings that block the sky and the sun.

As soon as the warm wind blows, the aroma of snacks in the streets and alleys wafts away, the sound of hawking is bustling one after another, and the children at the root of the imperial city are chasing and playing, witnessing this prosperous ancient capital together.

When the sun and the moon are no longer intertwined, there is no way to know the change of day and night, so the passage of time becomes nothingness.

If it weren't for the leisurely and comfortable expressions of the people outside the streets and alleys, with the smell of the year still remaining, I'm afraid I would have forgotten that the fifth year of Tianjia has arrived.

I lifted the curtain of the carriage, and looked at the world outside through the narrow world. As long as ordinary people can fill their stomachs, it is a beautiful and happy day.

The war between Daxing and Northern Qiang has been fierce for a year. Last autumn, because the temperature of the grasslands dropped more than usual, the momentum of the Northern Qiang's southward attack was particularly fierce.At this time, General Nangong was overwhelmed by many victories and underestimated the fighting power of the Northern Qiang. At the end of last year, he returned home in defeat. Daxing, who had always had the upper hand, suddenly lost power, and the war gradually entered a stalemate.

I think this fiasco was a serious decision-making error, but it was not mentioned in the history books I read before.History has changed, right?

Because of this reason, all the court officials had a bad year, Liu Yueying was furious and changed the head coach, Xiao Chu, the champion of martial arts who was admitted to the imperial examination last year, was promoted to the front line.The emperor canceled the New Year's Eve palace banquet. As the prime minister, I was so busy in the Yizheng Pavilion every day that I even forgot to celebrate the Spring Festival.

The wheels of the carriage were crushed on the ground, and his eyes followed the streetscapes on both sides, and he saw the outline of Yan Mansion in front of him.

After Yan Xi became the chief assistant of the cabinet, things became complicated as expected. This year's finances had already started to be tight, and General Nangong had another big defeat, which made the cabinet unable to rest.

Yan Xi bears the brunt of this prime minister who stays with me, the prime minister, to settle accounts and make reports in the palace every day, and can't go back to Yan's mansion at all. It's a pain for Yang Zhi to stay at home alone, and I'm afraid she will be overwhelmed again.

It's rare to go out of the palace recently to do business, so I asked the coachman to stop, and I got off the carriage, wanting to go to Yan's mansion to see Xiaozhi.Although I can only squeeze out a little time, it is better than nothing.

Walking through the long corridor to the main hall, I saw an unexpected person——Li Quansheng.He and Yangzhi were chatting about something, the atmosphere was very good.

After thinking about it quickly, Li Quansheng went to the Imperial Academy as an editor shortly after I was promoted to prime minister, and no longer served in the cabinet, so he is not very busy recently.

However, when did he get in touch with Yangzhi?

When the two saw me coming, Xiaozhi stood up and complained to me: "Sister, you are finally free to go out of the palace." Li Quansheng saluted me, as gentle and elegant as he had seen before.

"The Prime Minister is very busy coming in, I haven't seen you for a long time." I smiled and nodded at him.

"Sister, you don't know, Mrs. Li is really a talented person. Yan Xi hasn't come back for many days, I'm really bored," she held her chin, and her small movements were exactly the same as Yan Xi's, "That's why I went to the teahouse to drink with the literati. The one who made poetry with tea was Mr. Li whom I met there."

Although she spoke clearly and logically, I still think it's not good. I don't know if Yan Xi would mind, it's always a bit strange to watch.Li Quansheng, I know him only in the cabinet, and I haven't gotten along with him since he was promoted to prime minister.

It turned out that I was young and ignorant, but now that I think about it, he approached me too deliberately at that time, which was quite suspicious and came all the way to me.

When Li Quansheng saw me coming to the Yan Mansion, he knew that I was looking for Yang Zhi, so he left without saying a few words in a sensible manner.His smile has always been decent and natural, it can be seen that the tutor is very good, but...

Suddenly remembered his family background, he came from Jiangnan County, and has been in business for generations. Because of the order of scholars, farmers, businessmen, this generation of Li Dashan tried his best to let him study and get a good name, so that he would not take over the family business of a businessman.

And Li Dashan from Jiangnan County... frowned, and said to Yangzhi not very politely: "Xiaozhi, you'd better not have too much contact with him."

"What's the matter, you don't think Yan Xi will be jealous, do you?" She didn't care too much, "It's okay, sister, Yan Xi is different from the one in your family. I get along with him innocently, and we will never exceed the distance."

My family?I don't have it.Xiaozhi didn't know about the affairs of the court, and it seemed that Yan Xi didn't tell her, I haven't been to the imperial court for more than half a year, and Xu Wei, the left minister, has a lot more power than the right minister.

Those people in the court who worship the high and step on the low, even if I am the prime minister, as long as the emperor does not reuse them, they will only maintain the superficial kung fu, and who will take me seriously behind the scenes.

"No, the matter between you and Yan Xi, as long as she doesn't object, you can handle it yourself. But Li Quansheng has a complicated background and is not as clean as he looks."

Yang Zhi tilted his head, not quite accepting my point of view.

"Sister, I know that you are much stronger now than before, but don't always think of everyone as the officialdom. Li Quansheng edited anthologies in the Imperial Academy, which is so far away from political rights, even if he wants to Doing dirty things is probably difficult for this official position, right?"

Even though what Yang Zhi said was right, I still felt something was wrong.When Hu Zhongli used the Hulukou Reservoir to frame me, the person who forged my handwriting and wrote letters kept falling, and then nothing happened.

"His literary talents are really good. If he is a narrow-minded hypocrite, how can he make a policy theory of 'the turbidity of the waves'? The article can somewhat show the character of the writer."

"Okay, I can't say no to you. In short, you should be careful and be careful when sailing for thousands of years." I dug out a newly written letter from my pocket and handed it to Yang Zhi.

"I've been really busy recently. This is a letter I wrote to Master when I found time. The last time I saw him was half a year ago. I didn't go back to Dongshan this Chinese New Year. I feel really sorry." After thinking about it, I felt that a letter alone was not enough, and then He took off the dark green ring on his hand - one of the rewards given by the emperor when he was promoted to prime minister, and gave it to Xiao Zhi.

"I can't trust ordinary people, and I haven't found the little white carrier pigeon. It should be taken by you. You should send these things to Dongshan to me quickly. I have something to discuss with Sikong, so I'll go first."

Yang Zhi gave me a blank look, nodded and agreed: "Understood, Mr. Prime Minister will go to the Three Treasures Hall for nothing!"

==

The first month of Tianjia's five years passed like a flash, but it was very stressful.Northern Qiang and Daxing are stalemate in Beizhen, and the momentum of the Qiang people is getting stronger and stronger, and they may break through the fortress of Beizhen at any time.

Fortunately, the Beitong River is struggling to play its role. The ships that come and go every day continuously deliver gunpowder and food, providing the most solid backing for the unknown frontline army.

As for the Grand Canal, the first line to the south of the Beitong River is about to be completed. Once this route is open to navigation, it means that Qingzhou and Cangzhou to the south of Beizhen can also join the ranks of army supplies.

This is the only consolation. My hard work was not in vain. To be able to create such a precious section of river for Liu Yueying can be regarded as painstaking effort.

I just don't know if she's doing well recently, fingers unconsciously caressing the jade pendant hanging on the belt, and poking the ancient poem engraved on the back with her fingertips.Liu Yueying may not be doing well, Daxing has been in turmoil recently, she must be having trouble sleeping and eating.

Alas, it turned out that I was not worthy, and it was useless to be "close to the water". She must be very disappointed in me, so she ignored me for such a long time.

It doesn't matter, as long as you can help her, you will be satisfied. This is a little starlight in the boundless darkness.

It's just a pity, how can the starlight be as bright and bright as the moonlight?

"Prime Minister Yang, the book deficit is huge, we can't go on like this!" As soon as I returned to the Yizheng Pavilion, the servant of the Household Department piled up a mountain of documents in front of me.

He has already leapfrogged to report, wiping the sweat from his forehead, which shows how urgent the matter is, and Yan Xi, who manages the finances with him, is not in a good condition. Seeing me coming back, he shook his head slightly at me.

"Has there already been such a big gap in finances?" Looking at the numbers on the books, he dialed the abacus next to him, speechless for a moment.

"I'm going to write a note to the emperor now to see if I can ask the officials in Beijing to fill in the gap with some savings first. If not, I can only increase the tax revenue of Jiangnan County." Gritting my teeth angrily, I know this How many people will hate him after the book is uploaded.

But is there any other way?

"Prime Minister, why don't you let the canal builder go." Yan Xi looked at me and said this sentence cautiously. I knew it was her suggestion after careful consideration.

"No." Shaking his head without thinking, "At least we have to wait until the first line is completely completed. It's almost there. Within three months, the first line will definitely be open to navigation."

"Servant, I will give you an answer to this matter later, and now I have something to say to the prime minister." Yan Xi waited for the servant of the household department to leave, and then walked to my side.

"Yang Li, I know you don't want to be reconciled, but building a canal is a waste of time and money. Daxing can still support it when it is stable. Now the Northern Qiang and us are fighting so fiercely that the army is dying every day. We have to keep coming from the north. Many prisoners were released into the army in the town, and many prisoners were released and incorporated into the army, you don’t know.” She sighed, “The people in other places can live a good year, it’s not because the people of Beizhen piled them up with their lives. of?"

"If your front line is not repaired, Bei Qiang breaks through the fortress and breaks into Beizhen. Wouldn't the Beitong River become meat on the chopping block?"

"Don't worry too much about this," I pursed my lips. "Nomads run on the grassland every day. They don't have water skills. The Daxing navy has a crushing advantage in this regard."

Yan Xi took a deep look at me.

"Then what do you think is the chance that you will be accepted when you write this note to the emperor? Will she pay attention to you? Now everyone in the court knows that you, the right prime minister, have not been in the imperial court for half a year!" she said. Get excited, a little hate iron for steel: "I really don't know what you have in your head, the emperor treats you so well, how can you turn things into the current situation?"

Yan Xi walked to the chair and sat down, raised his legs and was furious.

"I was able to help you when you first became an official, but now I can't reach out at all. God knows how you offended the emperor."