White walls and black tiles, a house inside the wall, and a long alley outside the wall.
A few stalks of green grass stubbornly struggled out of the mottled tiles on top of the wall. They happily unfurled their leaves towards the blue sky and added some liveliness to the quiet alley. Of course, the occasional laughter coming from inside the wall also added some liveliness to the quiet alley.
In the alley outside the wall, Yang Fan wore a Confucian Scribes robe that hid his strong and sturdy body. He looked somewhat like a refined and refined scholar. Beside him, there were five or six people dressed in casual clothes. Maqiao, Chu Kuangge, Ren Wei, and the others were among them.
Yang Fan held his hands behind his back and carefully examined the situation around him. From time to time, he would give a few orders. Maqiao, Chu Kuangge, and the others listened attentively. When they left, they quickly gathered a group of people to their side and spread out according to their orders. They seemed to be setting up guards around the manor next to them.
During the time that Yang Fan had been concentrating on managing the Thousand Cavalry, many things had happened in the court.
The first was that Wei Yuanzhong had returned from Lingnan.
As the vanguard of the rebellion against Zhang, Second Zhang had been executed. Naturally, he was innocent and meritorious, so Li Xian ordered him to return from Lingnan. Zhang Jianzhi and the others were very welcoming of his arrival. Although Wei Yuanzhong was an old subordinate of the Eastern Palace, since they could pull Jing Hui, Cui Xuanhui, and Yuan Shuji over, they believed that they could also pull Wei Yuanzhong in as an ally.
At the same time, Yang Zaisi, who had once flattered Second Zhang, was pardoned of his crimes by Li Xian and retained. However, he had made a mistake and was chased out of the Political Affairs Hall. Although Yang Zaisi did not have the title of Prime Minister, he still had the power of a Prime Minister. He was appointed by Li Xian to be the Minister of Revenue, a third-rank official of the Hall of Governmental Affairs, and also to guard Chang 'an.
In this way, his real power did not decrease much. He did not need to control the Ministry of Revenue and the Tang Empire's finances. Moreover, he was also the Left Guard of Chang 'an and controlled the army. Moreover, he was also a lower third-rank member of the Hall of Governmental Affairs and had the right to discuss politics with the Prime Ministers.
Zhang Jianzhi and the others were firmly opposed to the idea of keeping a lowly person like Yang Zaisi. However, they had recently made too many concessions, and Li Xian's momentum was growing stronger and stronger. This was especially the case after he successfully split apart the Meritorious Minister's Faction, the Prince of Xiang's Faction, and the Taiping Faction, as well as obtaining the support of the King of Liang's Faction. As Emperor, Li Xian's authority had clearly become much stronger.
As the Emperor, Li Xian's authority was clearly much firmer. After a stalemate, Zhang Jianzhi and the others once again made concessions. This made Li Xian even more courageous. His old subordinates of the Eastern Palace, such as Wei Anshi, Li Huaiyuan, Tang Xiucan, and Zhu Qinming, were all used by him. Although these people were divided into many factions and could not be united, they could at least be used. At the moment, Li Xian lacked people.
However, the seats in the Political Affairs Hall had already been filled by the Meritorious Officials. Now that Wu Sansi and Wei Yuanzhong had been added, he truly could not stuff any more Prime Ministers inside. Otherwise, the Prime Ministers of the Tang dynasty would be as worthless as cabbages sold on the street. Li Xian could only appoint them all as third-rank officials of the Hall of Governmental Affairs and divide the power of the Prime Ministers before anything else.
By the time Yang Fan had begun to sort out the initial plans for the expansion of the thousand cavalry, Li Xian had already used the innate advantage of his status as emperor to open up a certain situation in the Imperial Court and grasp a certain amount of authority. He was no longer at the mercy of Zhang Jianzhi and the others.
But Li Xian was not satisfied with the current situation. As an emperor, his authority was still too small. However, if he wanted to continue to expand his authority, he would inevitably touch the bottom line of the Meritorious Officials and suffer their fierce rebuke. Unless his strength could also increase, he could force the Meritorious Officials to lower their heads.
Thus, Li Xian turned his gaze to Wu Sansi. The Prince of Xiang was his blood brother, and this was precisely what he feared. It was true that he could ally with Princess Taiping, but although Princess Taiping was dissatisfied with the domineering attitude of the Meritorious Officials, she could not ally with him to suppress the Meritorious Officials. Thus, his only choice was the Wu clan.
The Wu clan was still extremely powerful, and Wu Sansi was his daughter's relative by marriage and had many conflicts with the Meritorious Officials. Was this not his best fighter? Thus, after appointing Wu Sansi Prime Minister and conferring him the title of Great Minister of Public Works, Li Xian began a series of actions to win over the Wu clan to show his favor.
There was no court meeting today, so Li Xian suddenly decided to make a private visit to the Wu clan. In order to prevent the meritorious officials from running to him to remonstrate and nag at him, Li Xian chose to leave the palace through the Black Tortoise Gate controlled by Yang Fan. Thus, the duty of keeping watch naturally fell on Yang Fan's shoulders.
In truth, how could the Son of Heaven truly be incognito when he went out on patrol? As long as he didn't make too much of a ruckus and didn't make too much noise, it would be considered incognito. The Liang Household was guarded by the newly appointed Commandant of the Internal Guard, Gao Ying, while the Liang Household was guarded by Yang Fan. If the emperor made the slightest mishap, they would be punished with execution, so they naturally had to be especially cautious.
Yang Fan personally rushed to the Liang Household and patrolled the area. After understanding the situation, he began to make arrangements. From the Liang Household to the Bright Country Square where the Liang Household was located, all the way to Vermillion Bird Avenue, he arranged for one thousand plain-clothed cavalry to patrol and guard every vital point.
"Eh? This is … Aunt Eleven, push a little higher, a little higher! "
There was a swing in the wall. As the swing swung higher and higher, a girl in a red dress sat on it. As the swing swung over the wall, she suddenly realized that there was a person standing in the alley outside the wall. His appearance was rather familiar, and upon closer inspection, she realized that it was Yang Fan. She hurriedly turned her head and ordered her younger sister to push her even higher.
Behind the swing stood an adorable girl with baby fat. It was the Prince of Xiang's youngest daughter, Aunt Eleven, Huo Guo. The person sitting on the swing was naturally Aunt Ten, Li Chiying.
This estate was the home of the Prince of Xiang's daughter, the Princess of Anxing. Anxing's husband was Xue Lin, a military officer of the Liang Household. As a result, she had bought the estate next to the Liang Household so that it would be convenient for her husband to work there. Today, Li Chiying and her other sisters had come to her older sister's house to play.
The little ass-kisser, Huo Guo, had taken a fancy to one of Li Chiying's beads and had been chasing after her older sister for it. In exchange, Li Chiying wanted her to help her swing. Huo Guo had spared no effort to obtain her older sister's beads, and upon hearing her older sister's order, she immediately puffed out her cheeks and pushed even harder.
Li Chiying was wearing a dress, but she was afraid that her breasts would be exposed, so she clamped her legs tightly together. However, the dazzling red of her dress still fluttered like clouds, making her seem exceptionally beautiful.
When Li Chiying saw that the person standing outside the wall was indeed Yang Fan, she was overjoyed. Just as she was about to greet Yang Fan, she suddenly became suspicious. That's not right, he's wearing casual clothes. What's he doing sneaking around here?
… …
The corner door of one of the houses in the long alley suddenly opened and a carriage emerged. The moment the carriage emerged from the corner door, it made a sharp turn and galloped over. This action immediately attracted the attention of the one thousand plain-clothed cavalrymen scattered about the alley.
Yang Fan had already ordered them to be secretly on guard and not to make a scene, lest all the neighbors know that an important figure was paying a visit to the Liang Household. As a result, these plain-clothed guards would not lightly reveal their identities to search passersby, but the moment this carriage appeared, they immediately became vigilant.
Several of the cavalrymen immediately unsheathed their daggers and rushed forward, simultaneously flashing their fish talismans. They couldn't be blamed for being so nervous. The people who lived in this area were all rich and powerful families, and a carriage coming out of a single household shouldn't draw any attention. However, this carriage's curtains were drawn so tightly that it was impossible to see what was going on inside. Moreover, as soon as the coachman emerged from the corner door, he started lashing out with his whip like rain, his expression flustered. How could they not be suspicious?
Several cavalrymen stepped forward to stop him. The coachman hurriedly reined in his horse. At first, he looked angry, but when he saw the cavalrymen reveal their identities, the coachman's expression changed to one of bewilderment. He turned his head towards the carriage and said a few words. The curtains were lifted, and a person walked out.
Yang Fan noticed that this person was extremely cautious when he walked out of the carriage. The curtains were pulled down extremely low, as if he was afraid that others would see what was going on inside. He couldn't help but become suspicious. Taking a closer look, he saw that the person was about sixty years old. He was dressed in a plain robe and had a green headscarf tied around his head. He had three strands of long beard on his chin. He gestured to the cavalrymen, indicating for them to let the carriage pass.
The cavalrymen flashed past the two sides, urging the carriage to move towards Yang Fan. When the carriage stopped in front of Yang Fan, the person on the carriage immediately got off the carriage and cupped his hands towards Yang Fan. He asked in bewilderment, "Are you … from the Thousand Cavalrymen?"
When Yang Fan was inspecting the surroundings to understand the situation, he already knew that the family that the carriage came out of was the mansion of the now powerful Huan Yan, Fan Huan's husband. Although the meritorious officials didn't regard Yang Fan as their core member, as a friend who had fought together in the war, they didn't reject him. Their relationship with each other could be considered good.
Yang Fan cupped his hands towards the person and said, "Correct, I am the Thousand Cavalrymen's Champion General, Yang Fan. May I know who you are?"
The old man was slightly startled. He quickly followed the official etiquette and bowed to Yang Fan again. He said, "So it is Great General Yang. My apologies, my apologies. I am the Provincial Governor of Yizhou, Zhao Luwen."
Only now did Yang Fan know who he was. It turned out he was Huan Yan's brother-in-law.
Wan 'er had heard from her informant that his brother-in-law, who was the Provincial Governor of Yizhou, was a hero in the coup d' état. He had asked the Emperor for a title and caused the Emperor to lose his temper in the inner palace. Wan 'er had heard about this from her informant, and then told it to Yang Fan as a joke. As a result, Yang Fan had a very good impression of this person.
Yang Fan hurriedly said, "Oh, so it is Governor Zhao. My apologies, my apologies. I have official business to attend to here. My subordinates do not know Governor Zhao's identity and have offended you. I ask Governor Zhao to forgive them. If Governor Zhao has urgent matters, please go ahead. I will send someone to open the way for Governor Zhao. "
The Provincial Governor of Yizhou, Zhao Luwen, gladly said, "Thank you for your trouble, Great General. Since that is the case, I won't disturb you any further. Farewell …"
Before Zhao Luwen could finish the word 'farewell', a woman about fifty years of age suddenly walked out of the unclosed corner door. Behind her were two young maids dressed in green. As soon as the woman walked out of the corner door, she looked left and right and said, "Who said my elder brother is here? Where is he?"
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