Li Zhaode's mansion was full of distinguished guests. Those who came and went were either great scholars or high officials.
Li Zhaode sat at the head of the table. One person toasted, the other toasted. The wine and flattery entered his mouth one after another. Prime Minister Li was already a bit tipsy.
"Husband!"
A man held a cup in front of him. Li Zhaode stroked his beard and looked away from the dancers in the hall. He glanced at him and saw that it was his good friend Yan Shansi. He raised his cup and laughed: "Haha, Old Yan, you have never liked wine. Today you are in the mood to drink. Come, sit next to me. Let's have a drink together."
Yan Shansi was the Minister of the Right and the Minister of the Interior. Although he was a close subject to the Emperor, his official position was not high. He was just an admonishing official. In front of a powerful Emperor like Wu Zetian, he was basically useless. However, he was very talented and learned. He was knowledgeable, so he had a good relationship with Li Zhaode.
Yan Shansi sat next to Li Zhaode, but he was not in a hurry to drink. Instead, he whispered in his ear: "Husband, I heard that the Censorate created a bloody case in Lingnan. They slaughtered more than three hundred women and children. They also told the Emperor that there was a rumor in Lingnan about a warrior named Liu, which made the Emperor very afraid. Now the Censorate … "
Li Zhaode raised his hand to stop him. He sneered and said: "Shansi, you don't need to say anything. I already know."
Li Zhaode took a sip of wine and said hatefully: "The Censorate is perverse and devoid of conscience. What they have done is really infuriating! When I heard about their evil deeds in Lingnan, I was really angry! But you don't have to worry. These cruel officials are full of evil. They are digging their own grave. I want to see how long they can run amok! "
Yan Shansi said worriedly: "They are making such a scene. I am afraid Lai Junchen will also come back. The Emperor lives in the Imperial Palace. The situation among the people depends on others. The Emperor has always been apprehensive about rebellion. Now that Wan Guojun has painted Lingnan as if there are traitors everywhere, it is hard to guarantee that the Emperor will not use him again. "
Li Zhaode smiled proudly and said: "So what? A featherless phoenix is not as good as a chicken. Do you think Lai Junchen still has the prestige of the past? Hmph! The more unjust cases they create in various parts of the world, the greater the resentment of the people. It's fine if Lai Junchen stays in the same prefecture, but if he comes out, we can catch them all in one fell swoop! "
Yan Shansi frowned and said, "Don't be careless, my husband. You might be playing with fire!"
Li Zhaode was a little unhappy and said unhappily, "This servant has his own considerations!"
Seeing this, Yan Shansi could only keep his mouth shut.
Li Zhaode's mansion was located at Li De Lane, which was surrounded by water on all sides. Yang Fan exited the Imperial City and headed north along the Luo River's embankment. He turned around a bridge and entered Li De Lane.
Li Zhaode's mansion was renovated and rebuilt after he became the "Chief Scribe". It was a huge mansion with a wide front yard and an extraordinary aura. As long as one entered Li De Lane, they would know the location of the Li Residence with a little inquiry.
Yang Fan was stopped by Princess Taiping on the way. Although he still insisted on coming to the Li Residence, he was much calmer and not as furious as he was at the beginning. He rushed to the Li Residence and saw many carriages and horses parked in front of the gate. Yang Fan did not speak to anyone and only tied the horses to the posts. He strode up the steps and grabbed the bronze ring of the beast head and knocked hard on the gate.
"Knock knock knock!"
Yang Fan knocked hard. After a few loud bangs, someone behind the gate shouted unhappily, "Who is it! With such great strength, can you afford to pay for breaking our gate? "
Along with the voice, the gate opened a little and an impatient face peeked out. He looked up and down at Yang Fan. Seeing that he was young and dressed in ordinary clothes, he did not look like someone from a noble family. His expression was even more arrogant. He lazily stretched out a hand and said, "Give it to me!"
Yang Fan said in a deep voice, "Give what to me?"
The man was about to close the door without saying anything. Yang Fan stretched out his hand to stop him and shouted, "What are you doing?"
The man glared at him and said, "You don't even have a visiting card and you still want to visit my house? This is the Prime Minister's mansion. Do you think it's some small family? You don't even have a visiting card and you still want to see my Ah Lang. How dare you! Get lost or I'll send you to the yamen to eat the plank! "
Yang Fan did not get angry but laughed instead and said, "The Prime Minister's doorstep is a seventh-ranked official. Unfortunately, I am a fifth-ranked official in the imperial court. It's normal for me to be in the Ministry of Justice. A seventh-ranked official like you is not enough. Get out of the way! "
Yang Fan stretched out his hand and pushed the two doors open. The door was pushed open and fell down like a rolling gourd. Yang Fan walked in in big strides. The officials' servants, guards, and coachmen waiting in front of the door were all dumbfounded.
"Someone come quickly! Someone is forcing his way into the Prime Minister's mansion. He's out of control …"
The gatekeeper was lying on the ground and did not want to get up. He was shouting at the top of his lungs. Many servants of the Prime Minister's mansion heard the news and rushed out. Yang Fan raised his voice and said, "I am the Minister of Justice's Minister Yang Fan. I have an important matter of life and death to see Prime Minister Li. Who dares to stop me?" Finished speaking, Yang Fan flashed his tortoise talisman.
The official's identification card was originally a fish talisman, but later on someone ran to Wu Zetian and flattered her, saying that the Wu Clan was in the imperial court and the Black Tortoise was one of the four symbols. Therefore, they should abandon the fish talisman and cast the tortoise talisman instead. At that time, the tortoise was one of the four spirits, the auspicious beast in the legends, the mythical beast, not an insult. As a result, the official's identity card became a tortoise.
When the servants in the Prime Minister's mansion heard that he was an official of the Ministry of Justice and saw him flashing the tortoise talisman, they knew that his identity was not fake. They also heard that it was an important matter, so they did not dare to stop him. However, they were afraid that letting him in without permission would anger Ah Lang, so they followed him to the back of the mansion like a swarm of bees.
"Lord Prime Minister, Wanrong offers you a bowl of wine!"
In the reception hall of the back of the mansion, some of the guests were composing poems, some snatched the musical instruments from the hands of the musicians and began to play, and some people were so happy that they sang and danced with the dancers in the hall. A tall and sturdy man took the opportunity to pick up the wine bowl and walked over to Li Zhaode, who was stroking his beard and smiling.
This man was called Sun Wanrong. His attire, his speech and intonation were exactly the same as that of a Han, but he was actually a Khitan man. In his early years, as a servant of the Khitan Dahe tribe, he entered the Tang dynasty as a hostage and lived in Chang 'an and Luoyang for a long time, so he could speak Chinese very well.
Now he had become the leader of the Khitan Dahe tribe, and was conferred the title of General of the Right Jade Palace Guards by the Tang dynasty, the Provincial Governor of Guicheng Prefecture, and was conferred the title of Duke of Yongle County; he was a vassal of the Tang dynasty. This time he had come to Luoyang to pay tribute. After paying tribute, he specially paid a visit to Li Zhaode, hoping to become the Prime Minister's disciple and properly manipulate the situation to promote him.
Sun Wanrong had not stayed in the Central Plains for so many years in vain. After he returned to his tribe and became the chief, he used the knowledge he had learned in the Central Plains to make the Dahe tribe even stronger, and now they had the strength to compete for the position of chief of the Khitan tribal alliance.
Most of the chiefs of the Khitan tribes had received official positions from the original Tang dynasty or the current Great Zhou Emperor, so the ranks of the chiefs of the various tribes were about the same. If he could be promoted again, then he would be able to suppress the chiefs of the other tribes and have a greater chance of becoming the chief of the tribal alliance.
The Khitan was a poor place, it could not compare to the ginseng, mink fur, winter pearls and so on from the Heishui Brown (Jurchen) to the east, nor could it compare to the various jewels and gold of the Turks and the Western Regions. In addition to paying tribute this time, in order to curry favor with Li Zhaode, he scraped together everything he had and managed to scrape together ten good horses, a hundred sand fox skins, a pair of golden pork bellies and a pair of golden saddles from Korea, a hundred winter pearls extorted from the Heishui Brown, and fifty stalks of ginseng over a hundred years old.
Ginseng had been used by the people of China for a long time. It was mentioned in the inscriptions on bronze wares of the Yin and Shang Dynasty. At that time, it was something that could be cast on utensils, so it was clear how important it was to the people of that time. In the 'Divine Farmer's Hundred Herb Classic' written at the end of the Warring States period, ginseng was also listed as a top-grade tonic. Li Zhaode was already advanced in age, so he did not care much about worldly possessions, but these fifty stalks of old ginseng were very much to his liking.
As soon as he saw Sun Wanrong approach with a bowl of wine in his hands, looking at him eagerly, Li Zhaode understood his meaning and could not help but smile, saying: "Ever since you became the leader of the Da He tribe, they have been coming to court every year, paying tribute every year. They are on good terms with our Great Zhou, and their respect far exceeds that of the other tribes. They can be said to be the role model of the vassals, so the court should commend them. You don't have to worry about what you want, I will personally speak to the Sage about it. "
Sun Wanrong was overjoyed and repeatedly thanked him. Raising the bowl of wine, he said: "Wanrong toasts Prime Minister, wishing Prime Minister good health and longevity!"
Li Zhaode chuckled and picked up the fine porcelain wine cup. Just as he was about to take a sip, he heard a commotion. The dancers and guests in the hall all stopped in surprise and turned their heads to look. Li Zhaode frowned and unhappily put down the wine cup. He angrily said: "What's the commotion?"
The people in the hall parted to the left and right, revealing a person standing in front of the hall. The many servants of the Prime Minister's residence below the hall did not dare to approach. Only one person mustered up the courage to report: "Ah Lang, this person claims to be the Director of the Ministry of Justice and has an important matter to report to Ah Lang. He did not allow me to report and barged in …"
Only then did Yang Fan salute him and stiffly said: "Prime Minister Li, this lowly official has an important matter to report and came in a hurry. Please forgive this lowly official's offense!"
Even though Li Zhaode was drunk, his mind was very clear. Seeing Yang Fan standing in the hall with a faint anger between his brows, he had already guessed the reason for his visit. Li Zhaode waved his hand and ordered his family members: "All of you can leave!" He then slowly stood up and smiled at the guests: "My friends, please enjoy the banquet and do not spoil the mood. Yang Langzhong has come to discuss something with this servant. This servant will go to the study room first. I will come back in a while to accompany my friends to drink. "
Only then did the guests of the Prime Minister's residence come to a sudden realization and resumed their relaxed smiles. They all saluted and flatteringly said: "Today is the Prime Minister's day off but you are still concerned about the affairs of the country. You are truly an example to all the officials. Prime Minister, please go by yourself. There is no need to worry about us! "
Li Zhaode smilingly saluted the guests and walked out of the Reception Hall. Yang Fan did not say much and only followed behind him. Li Zhaode led him out of the Reception Hall and into the study room. As soon as he entered the study room, his expression changed abruptly. He slammed the table and shouted: "Yang Fan! How dare you! Time and time again, you have despised this Prime Minister and offended your superior. Do you think this old man cannot punish you? "
Li Zhaode's anger did not scare Yang Fan. He stood there like a spear and said in a deep voice: "Prime Minister Li is drunk!"
Li Zhaode was startled and said angrily: "What does it have to do with you whether this old man is drunk or not?"
A bloody shadow appeared in Yang Fan's eyes. He said word by word: "Drinking human blood can also make one drunk?"
…
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