Chapter 287: The Deep Idea of ​​Returning to Shazhou

The morning rain in Weicheng is light dust, and the green willows in the guest house are fresh.

I advise you to have a glass of wine, and you will have no friends when you go west to Yangguan.

In April of the eighth year of Tianbao, the sky was changing. Yesterday was still sunny and the heat made people wear short collars. It was suspected that summer was approaching. But the next day it started to rain. The rain and mist were gray, bringing a hint of coldness. The climate of the Tang Dynasty was much warmer and moister than now. There were rivers all over the country, lush willows on the shore, and green mountains in the distance, which made it look like a painting.

Chang'an Ba ​​Bridge has been a place to welcome and send off since ancient times. A straight official road passes through the post pavilion east-west, to the east, to Hedong and Luoyang's Central Plains prosperous place, but to the west, to the Gobi desert, with poplar sunset.

In the past few days, there have been a steady stream of officials who have bid farewell to Baqiao, and tragedy and comedy have been staged one after another. Some have been full of confidence and ambitions; some have cried bitterly and sighed that life is like a dream; some have been drunk and were stuffed into a carriage by their colleagues and dreamed of leaving Chang'an.

At this time, several colleagues from the Ministry of Revenue in the post pavilion were saying goodbye to Li Qing. They put a few glasses of light wine on a small square table. Most of the officials wore green robes and cage crowns on their heads. They raised their wine glasses to see him off.

"Mr., this time, the expedition outside the border is long. I hope I will take care of it. Come! I will give you a cup first!"

The Minister of Revenue Zhang Yun drank the wine in his hand and smiled at the officials behind him, saying, "Everyone hurry up and don't miss the minister's itinerary."

"It is the emperor's compassion for the Minister to return to Shazhou. I hope to take care of him all the way!"

Wei Jiansu, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, Zhang Qian, the Shaoqing of Taifu Temple, and other officials also stepped forward to say goodbye one by one. At this time, a carriage rushed from a distance, splashing large splashes of water from time to time, and there were hundreds of iron cavalry guards next to them, which was impressive.

"It's Li Linfu here!" Everyone angrily looked at Zheng Ping, the deputy secretary of the Ministry of Revenue. He was Li Linfu's son-in-law, and he must have said this.

But Li Qing knew that this matter had nothing to do with Zheng Ping. He asked Li Linfu to survive the disaster, so how could he not come to win over him at this time?

After a while, Li Linfu strode up the hill with a white skirt. He was full of energy and a rosy complexion. He was completely different from the aura he was pressed by Yang Guozhong a few days ago. On the day Li Qing was enfeoffed to the Western Regions, Li Qing sent some evidence of the Suzhou case as promised, including King Qing's handwritten handwritten and some of Li Qiu's personal belongings. In the evening, Li Linfu visited King Qing Li Cong. Under the pressure of iron evidence, Li Cong was forced to agree to cooperate with Li Linfu, and Li Linfu also promised that Yang Xuan's murder case would be left unresolved. After a series of negotiations and concessions, Yang Guozhong finally suspended the encirclement and suppression of Li Linfu, which made Li Longji helplessly give up the withdrawal of the prescription.

Before Li Linfu could go up the hill, he heard his loud laughter from afar, "Why don't you tell me if the minister is leaving?" The officials in the pavilion walked outside the pavilion and made a way out.

Li Qing hurriedly greeted him and smiled and said, "The Prime Minister is busy with official duties, how dare Li Qing disturb him?"

"No matter how busy you are, you will come to see the minister."

Li Linfu smiled and entered the pavilion, but saw Zhang Yun at first sight, and couldn't help but bow and smile: "It turns out that all the family of the Ministry of Revenue has come. I'm talking about how deserted and deserted the Shangshu Province is today."

Zhang Yun hurriedly replied with a smile: "These two days are the days when officials leave Beijing. Yesterday I sent Cui Qiao to Lingnan and tomorrow I would send Yang Shenjin to Taiyuan. I believe the Prime Minister will feel the same way!"

"Yes!" Li Linfu pointed at Li Qing and smiled, "I will not let him go like Mr. Li, but the emperor ordered him to do nothing."

He walked up to Zhang Jun’s shoulder and whispered: “I want to say a few words to the Minister of the Secretariat. Could it be convenient for Zhang Shangshu?”

Zhang Yun glanced at Li Qing, slightly confused, but his face did not show up. He waved to everyone and said, "It's getting late, let's go back first!"

When everyone saw Shangshu talking, they drank the wine in their hands, stepped forward and said a few words to Li Qing before there was a certain period of time, so they said goodbye.

Seeing that everyone had gone far away, Li Linfu ordered the guards to guard the surroundings and not to let anyone come up. He pulled Li Qing down, took out a letter from his arms, and smiled and said, "Do you know why I put you in Anxi? Instead of Longyou or Hexi."

Li Qing didn't know what he meant. Seeing that he was holding the letter but not giving it to him, he knew that he must have something to do, so he shook his head and said, "Li Qing doesn't know, please give me advice from the Prime Minister!"

Li Linfu stopped talking. He walked to the pavilion with his hands behind his back and looked at the scenery in the drizzle. Several carriages were driving on the narrow Guanzhong Plain, galloping along a straight and endless official road. The road was lush with trees on both sides and the fields were shrouded in a silver-gray mist.

He suddenly turned around and stared at Li Qing, "Can you hand over all the evidence of the Suzhou arson case to me?"

This sentence seems to be incompatible with his previous sentence, but Li Qing knew that there must be something important in the letter Li Linfu held about his going to the Western Regions to take office. He wanted to exchange it with him!

"Does Li Qi also include?" he smiled.

Li Linfu nodded, "Now King Qing told everyone that Li Qiu went to Jiangnan to fulfill his wish for his mother, but I know that he must be in your hands. Since you have been transferred, he has no effect on you. It is better to give it to me. I will exchange some secrets of Gao Xianzhi with you."

Li Linfu's frankness made Li Qing fall into deep thought. He has been considering his relationship with Li Linfu these days. Although this alliance was driven by interests, he really needed the support of a real power faction in the court to compete with Yang Guozhong to wear small shoes after he became a senior. Although Zhang Yun had a good personal relationship with him, he was also a coincidence to help and could not provide support at all times. Gao Lishi only cooperated with his major affairs and did not interfere with daily government affairs.

So Li Linfu is a very good collaborator. As long as there is no evidence of collusion, he will not be able to implicate himself in the future once he falls.

He smiled slightly and said, "The Prime Minister is so serious. Since I have spoken, I will give it to the Prime Minister. How can I talk about the word "exchange"? However, people live and cannot be detained for a long time. It is better to let the Prime Minister off sooner."

Li Qing knew that the evidence of Li Linfu's arson case was to control King Qing for a long time, so it would be better to give it to him, but these evidences could only be controlled for a while. The Suzhou arson case is only required for the situation, and it will be meaningless after a long time, especially Li Qiu, who can't be detained forever!

However, Li Qing seized a batch of letters from King Qing of Suzhou, which spanned more than a dozen years. Although the content of the letter itself was not a big deal, if it was linked to some things that happened at the time of writing the letter, it would be extremely unfavorable to King Qing. For example, there was a letter written to him in the 25th year of Kaiyuan, saying that one of his wife's uncles should not be careful in life, and he should take action first when he found signs of disadvantage. This sentence is available and reasonable in business, but the time for the signature was three days after the former crown prince Li Ying and his two brothers were killed, which was extremely unfavorable to Li Cong.

These letters can also be used to cheer up Li Linfu's appetite, but I have to know what secret Gao Xianzhi has. Thinking of this, Li Qing took out a ring from his arms and handed it to Li Linfu and said, "The things are stored in Dongshijifang. With this ring, I will order someone to send it to the prime minister."

Li Linfu was overjoyed. He took the ring and put it in his arms carefully. This time, King Qing easily oppressed Yang Guozhong to make concessions, which made Li Linfu find that there must be some kind of unspeakable deal between them. Yang Guozhong was very afraid, so as long as he could control King Qing, he would control Yang Guozhong.

So Li Linfu decided to further win over Li Qing. One reason was that he had evidence of King Qing in his hands, and the other was that he could also be used as a foreign aid. Although Zhang Qiu Jianqiong's death was related to him, he actually died at the hands of Li Longji. As long as Li Qing knew this, he might not be resentful to himself. Moreover, as a person who was in the officialdom, if he kept resenting this matter, he would not have been able to reach the third-rank position in just a few years.

Li Linfu handed the letter to Li Qing and said with a smile: "There are some of my disciples and officials in Anxi, so the minister may wish to accept it, as it will be useful in the future."

Speaking of this, Li Qing understood and realized that Li Linfu wanted to form an alliance with him for a long time. He took the letter with a happy smile on his face, but when he saw that Li Linfu was saying goodbye, he reminded him: "The Prime Minister just said Gao Magistrate Anxi...."

Li Linfu smiled to the sky, pinched Li Qing's hand, and said to him in an intimate tone: "The future is long, and I will tell you carefully in the future."

Seeing that he did not fulfill his promise, Li Qing cursed the old fox in his heart, and wanted to cheer up his appetite, but he forgot that he also thought so.

At this time, Li Linfu leaned his head down and looked down. Li Qing knew that he was going to greet someone, so he smiled and said, "Actually, I found some old letters from King Qing when I went to Suzhou last time. If I think about the contents of it carefully, it would be really interesting. If the Prime Minister is interested......"

Sure enough, as soon as he finished speaking, Li Linfu turned around suddenly, his surprise could not be hidden in his eyes. He quickly patted Li Qing on the shoulder, pressed him down, touched his nose and laughed: "This rain is heavier than it was just now, and I can't go back for a while, so why don't we talk again."

"Li Qingxi listened attentively!"

Li Linfu sat down, he pondered for a while, and said slowly: "Anxi is not as good as Longyou and Hexi. It must prevent the northward advance of Tubo and prevent the eastward advance of Dashi in the west. The strategic location is very important, but the Tang Dynasty's troops in Anxi are not large, only 20,000 people. This is also the reason why the garrison is far away and the consumption of food is too huge. If there are too many people, the court will not be able to bear it. Therefore, the consistent strategy adopted by the court in Anxi is to support small and medium-sized regimes, implement autonomy in the form of a vassal state, and then set up the Anxi Jiedushi to control the vast land of Anxi. This time I recommend you to be the deputy of Gao Xianzhi and take charge of government affairs. In fact, I want to give you more opportunities, but I didn't expect that the emperor would add you to the governor of Shazhou, which confirms some of my conjectures."

Speaking of this, Li Linfu quickly glanced at Li Qing. Seeing that his eyes were quiet and not affected by the sudden turn of his words, Li Linfu had to admire his calmness. Just like two bargaining people, Li Linfu was constantly raising the purchase price in order to buy the letters in Li Qing's hand, but the seller Li Qing remained silent and could not understand his bottom line. Li Linfu had to sigh and continued to sigh: "The profound meaning of the emperor adding you to the governor of Shazhou, the governor of Doulu Army is definitely not what some people say. The emperor is nostalgic or something. I can guarantee that this must have been decided after he thought about it."

At this time, Li Qing's eyes began to have a bright look, as if he had realized something. Li Linfu was secretly happy in his heart. He was finally a little moved, but some words could not be said too clearly, so he implicitly said: "The Anxi Jiedu has the least military force among the top ten Jiedus, but it is the only place where eunuchs were sent to supervise the army. Assistant Minister, do you understand what I mean?"

Li Qing's pupils were gradually shrinking into a line at this time. He finally understood that he had been considering why Li Longji assigned Shazhou to Anxi, and added three thousand troops to the organization. He knew that this was definitely not Li Longji's nostalgia, but it should have a deep meaning. However, the so-called mischief of the authorities, Li Qing had never figured out this matter. It was not until he mentioned the military supervisor just now that Li Qing suddenly realized that this was actually Li Longji's old trick. He used himself to suppress Gao Xianzhi and also let Gao Xianzhi suppress himself.

He was a deputy in Anxi and in charge of government affairs. Li Longji felt that his power was still a little weak, so he returned Shazhou to himself and increased his troops to give him enough strength to compete with Gao Xianzhi.

Li Linfu's analysis was very accurate, Li Qing could see it clearly, and it was indeed true. Since the Huangfu Weiming incident in the fifth year of Tianbao, Li Longji began to investigate the private equity of the border generals. He was particularly worried about Anxi, which was related to its special geographical location. If Gao Xianzhi was willing, he could easily establish a country in the Western Regions. He also found out that Gao Xianzhi and Tuqishi were too close, and even had nearly 10,000 Tuqishi cavalry under his command, which made Li Longji very angry. However, Anxi wars were repeatedly, and he was difficult to transfer Gao Xianzhi away for a while, so he took the advantage of his plan and ordered Bian Lingcheng to be the supervisor to monitor Gao Xianzhi in a timely manner. However, he was afraid that Bian Lingcheng would be undermined, so he took the opportunity to put Li Qing out of Anxi and set up another plan to let the two check and balance each other.

"Thank you, Prime Minister. Li Qing knew it. Going to Anxi this time will definitely live up to the hope of the Prime Minister. I also hope that the Prime Minister can support more money and food in the court, so that Li Qing can have an elite army as soon as possible."

After Li Qing finished speaking, he decisively took out the letter Li Cong wrote to his wife's uncle from his bag, and solemnly handed it to Li Linfu, and said sincerely: "Li Qing knew in his heart that the root cause was not the prime minister. I hope that the prime minister remembers the lesson of the destruction of the Eastern Palace this time, and don't let the birds be shot all over."
Chapter completed!