Chapter 156 New Tasks Issued by Sister (5k)
Changsun Zhi is not very famous in history, but he has a great-grandson named Changsun Sheng, who had a son and a daughter. The son was named Changsun Wuji and the daughter was named Empress Wende, who was also the empress of Li Shimin.
Erzhu Rong added: "This Changsun Zhi and Hou Gang are relatives. His daughter Changsun was married to Hou Yuan. Now Hou Yuan is dead and Hou Gang was demoted to a soldier in Qinzhou. Changsun has been crying out for injustice, saying that her husband did not lead the Yulin Rebellion."
Su Ze did not say anything. On the day of the Yulin Rebellion, he put a red robe on Hou Yuan and used him as a target to lead the imperial guards. Su Ze did this very secretly, and even Princess Chenliu did not notice his doing.
And Su Ze never went to the Hou family to seek revenge, so he should have gotten away with it cleanly in this matter.
Jiangyang Wang Yuanyi and Hou Gang are also relatives, and even he did not doubt himself.
Erzhu Rong said, "Her husband is dead, and she is involved in such a big case. With the power of the Changsun family, they can certainly help their daughter escape the crime. We should just take Changsun back home and wait for a few years until the storm has passed before marrying her off."
"But Changsun refused to return home and said she wanted to remain faithful to her husband. General Changsun could only ask for a pardon for his daughter. But Changsun still refused to return home and told everyone that her husband had been bewitched by you, my brother, and that's why he did that."
Su Ze was shocked. Poison? Although Chang Sun's statement was a bit absurd, it did tell part of the truth. Did this woman have some evidence?
Erzhu Rong said, "But King Jiangyang also asked Changsun himself, and she couldn't say anything either. She just said that during the Yulin Rebellion, you rose to prominence, and all the old soldiers in the army who were close to you benefited. It must have been planned by you."
Su Ze breathed a sigh of relief. It turned out that she was just making random accusations. That's right, if this Chang Sun really had any evidence, it would not have been kept until now. She accused Su Ze because, on the one hand, she was angry that her husband was executed while Su Ze benefited. On the other hand, it might just be a woman's intuition.
Erzhu Rong said, "Brother, you have just made great achievements, and you are now being envied. I am just reminding you that if you meet someone from the Changsun family in the future, try to avoid them and don't cause any trouble."
Su Ze nodded. Erzhu Rong naturally meant well. Changsun Zhi had been guarding the southern line for a long time and had considerable power. He was also a direct descendant recommended by Yuan Yi. His weight within the Jiangyang King Group was much more important than Su Ze's.
They are all subordinates of the treacherous minister, and there are also differences in closeness and distance, so if there is a conflict with the Changsun family, Su Ze will definitely suffer.
Su Ze could only sigh that he had traveled through time to an era where the powerful families intermarried with each other and formed a huge community of interests. No matter how hard ordinary people tried, it was difficult to escape the shackles of the family.
Fortunately, the aristocratic families of this era began to loosen up, just like in the late Eastern Jin Dynasty. As long as the world was in chaos, these incompetent children of the aristocratic families in the Northern Wei Dynasty would be swept into the garbage dump of history.
Su Ze accepted Erzhu Rong's kindness and left his mansion. It was already late, so Su Ze walked towards the princess's mansion. He wanted to take his sister and father-in-law back from the princess's mansion, otherwise it would not be a good idea to always live in Princess Chenliu's mansion.
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In Luoyang City, at the residence of Danyang Duke Xiao Baoyin, accompanied by the chief clerk Su Liang, Xiao Baoyin was drinking with a middle-aged man dressed as a scholar.
The person treated as a distinguished guest by Xiao Baoyin was Cui Yanbo, the current Jinzi Guanglu Doctor of the Great Wei Dynasty.
This Cui Yanbo was from the Qinghe Cui clan, but he was famous for his strength and bravery, as well as his strategy. He took the path of a military general, a path rarely taken by the children of aristocratic families today, and the path of a fierce general at that.
In his early years, when Xiao Baoyin was on the southern expedition, he had a lot of interactions with Cui Yanbo. Cui Yanbo was also a surrendered minister of the Southern Qi Dynasty. He and Xiao Baoyin were both wanderers in the world, and the two of them had a sense of sympathy for each other.
When Emperor Wu of Liang built the Fushan Weir, Empress Dowager Hu summoned the generals on the front line to return to Luoyang to ask for countermeasures, and summoned Cui Yanbo and Yang Dayan.
Empress Dowager Hu asked the two of them to come up with a plan each.
Yang Dayan said: "If we attack from both land and sea, we will be invincible."
Cui Yanbo disagreed with Yang Dayan's view and said, "There are dense waterways on both sides of the Huai River, making it difficult for the army to move. According to your suggestion, please give the court a year to train the navy. If there is an unexpected situation, the navy can be mobilized immediately, and it will be invincible."
Empress Dowager Hu appreciated Cui Yanbo's views and approved his suggestions. Later, the Northern Wei Dynasty won the Battle of Fushan Weir.
Originally, because of his contribution in the Battle of Fushan Weir, Cui Yanbo was promoted to General Anbei and Governor of Bingzhou. However, this guy was extremely corrupt while in Bingzhou, making the people of Bingzhou live in misery. He was impeached by the ruling Qinghe Prince Yuan Yi, and was finally dismissed from his post by Empress Dowager Hu. He returned to Luoyang to take up the honorary position of Jinzi Guanglu Dafu.
Because of this incident, Cui Yanbo hated Qinghe King Yuan Yi very much and joined Yuan Yi's army.
After Xiao Baoyin joined Yuan Yi's army, the relationship between Xiao Baoyin and Cui Yanbo became closer. He also asked the literati under his command to constantly spread Cui Yanbo's brave deeds in Luoyang, comparing him to the Guan Yu and Zhang Fei of the contemporary era.
If others were faced with such praise, they would probably be humble, but Cui Yanbo was arrogant and took pride in it. This praise was half sarcastic.
However, Cui Yanbo did not take it seriously, and often compared himself to Guan and Zhang. He then denounced the court for not using powerful generals and letting him hold the idle position of Jinzi Guanglu Dafu in the court.
After three rounds of drinking, Xiao Baoyin said, "General Cui, I have recommended you to King Jiangyang as the governor of Qizhou. I have already communicated with the officials of Qizhou, and they will support General Cui to take the office."
Cui Yanbo raised his glass to toast Xiao Baoyin, but he still said with some dissatisfaction: "Qizhou is exhausted and not as good as Yongzhou!"
Su Liang, who was sitting next to him, couldn't help but complain in his heart. Qizhou was west of Chang'an, which is now the cities and counties of Zhouzhi, Linyou, Longxian, Baoji, Taibai, etc. in Shaanxi. Although it is also Guanzhong, it cannot be compared with the prosperous Chang'an area.
As for Cui Yanbo's reputation, Xiao Baoyin didn't know how many favors he had used and how much talk he had spent in order to make the officials and powerful people in Qizhou accept him. However, Cui Yanbo was still not satisfied and wanted Yongzhou, the richest city in Guanzhong.
Xiao Baoyin was much more restrained. He was not angry at all, but continued to toast Cui Yanbo, saying, "Qizhou is also a prestigious post that the court is eager to get. General Cui does not need to envy Yongzhou. Besides, there are queues for positions in the court. Now the governor of Yongzhou has not been vacant yet. If we wait for a prestigious post in Guanzhong, it will take who knows when. It is better to occupy Qizhou first."
When Cui Yanbo heard this, he also felt that what Xiao Baoyin said made sense. He had finally got this opportunity to be reinstated, and he didn't know when it would be again if he waited any longer.
Thinking about the current situation in Luoyang, although Cui Yanbo had embezzled a lot during the southern expedition and when he was the governor of Bingzhou, his spending has increased since he took up an idle position in Luoyang, but his income has been cut off and he has been living off his savings at home.
In order to make a comeback this time, Cui Yanbo spent all his family wealth to bribe Jiangyang King Yuanyi, resulting in all the family savings being used up.
Cui Yanbo now regretted why he had not been more greedy when he was an official before. This time he secretly made up his mind that after he was appointed to Qizhou, he must earn money from the land and save some money for his retirement!
Su Liang on the side felt uncomfortable. This was the state of the court now. These provincial governors were only thinking about making money. Guanzhong was his hometown, and he didn't want Cui Yanbo to harm the people of Guanzhong. However, for the sake of Xiao Baoyin's great cause, several states in Guanzhong were vacant this time, and he only had a few accomplices around him who were qualified to serve as provincial governors, so he had to recommend Cui Yanbo to go to Qizhou.
After sending the drunk Cui Yanbo away, Su Liang helped Xiao Baoyin back to the inner house. He handed over the hangover medicine and said to Xiao Baoyin:
"Mingsir, Cui Yanbo can only be a general, not an official. When he arrives in Qizhou, he will certainly plunder the local area, which will damage your reputation."
Xiao Baoyin drank the hangover medicine and his drunkenness dissipated a little. He said, "Jingshun! Do you think I am willing to recommend that guy to be the governor of Qizhou? But the situation in the court is turbulent now, and the queen mother does not allow me to lead the army to fight. Recommending Cui Yanbo to be the governor of Qizhou is to find a way out for us in Guanzhong!"
In fact, these words already implied treason. Su Liang was Xiao Baoyin's confidant, so he naturally understood Xiao Baoyin's plan.
Xiao Baoyin took his hand again and said sincerely, "Jingshun, I'm scared!"
"I have been waking up from nightmares for a while now. All I can think of is the scene that King Song Liu Hui told me about, where the fetuses of his two concubines were cut out of their bellies, stuffed with straw and placed in the hallway!"
"Liu Hui was the one who was punished for committing such an immoral act. He was stripped of his title of King of Song, and now the Queen Mother has forced him to remarry. His panic-stricken look reminds me of myself!"
Su Liang wanted to comfort Xiao Baoyin, but he didn't know how to start. He could only say, "Ming Gong and the princess are a well-known loving couple. The princess would never treat your highness like that."
Su Liang was right. Xiao Baoyin and Princess Nanyang were indeed a famous loving couple in Luoyang City. Although Princess Nanyang and Princess Lanling were both daughters of Emperor Xiaowen, they had completely different personalities. After several years of marriage, they lived in harmony and treated each other as equals.
Xiao Baoyin is now 30 years old, and Princess Nanyang is only 25. After their marriage, they have given birth to a son, Xiao Lie, who was also betrothed to the princess of Emperor Xuanwu. To be fair, Yuan Shi of the Northern Wei Dynasty treated Xiao Baoyin quite well.
In the past, when Su Liang advised him like this, Xiao Baoyin would not say anything. But today, perhaps because of the stimulation from Song Wang Liu Hui, Xiao Baoyin said angrily:
"As a man, how can you let a woman take control of your life?"
At this time, Princess Nanyang had just learned the news of Cui Yanbo's departure, and hurried to her husband's study with a bowl of sobering soup. She thought that Xiao Baoyin and Su Liang were discussing matters, so Princess Nanyang stood outside the door with the soup, but she heard Xiao Baoyin's words.
Princess Nanyang tightly grasped the soup plate, tears streaming down her eyes, she turned around and tiptoed out of the study.
Xiao Baoyin didn't know what was happening outside the study. His alcohol smell had almost disappeared, and he said to Su Liang:
"Is the news about Fotucheng's secret treasure in the city true or false?" Su Liang returned to his normal state after talking about business. He said calmly, "Mingsir, I asked my brother to check the records in Henan Prefecture. There has never been any rumor about Fotucheng's secret treasure in Luoyang City."
"Fotucheng passed through Luoyang two hundred years ago. The rumors that suddenly appeared in Luoyang City must have been spread intentionally by someone."
Xiao Baoyin also nodded and said, "This rumor started after the army returned to Luoyang after the northern expedition to Jizhou. I'm afraid it has something to do with the Yuan general."
Su Liang had already guessed it, so he asked, "Is it the King of Qinghe?"
Xiao Baoyin nodded and said, "The most troublesome issue in the court right now is the reward issue for the two expeditionary armies. The Prince of Qinghe is in charge of the Ministry of Finance, so he will definitely share the worries for the Queen Mother."
"But does King Qinghe really believe that there is some secret treasure of Fotucheng in this world? There is an endless supply of Buddha money?"
Xiao Baoyin squinted his eyes, as if he was drunk and fell asleep, and did not answer Su Liang's question.
-
"Brother, isn't it nice to live in His Highness's house? His Highness and Sister Luzhu are very kind to me."
Su Yuyao asked as she looked at Su Ze who was directing his men to move things.
Even the cat in Su Yuyao's arms was meowing in the direction of Princess Chenliu's mansion. These days, the princess's cat gave birth to two black and white cats in the snow. It was obvious that they were the offspring of this guy. Miserable cat cries were also heard in the princess's mansion.
Su Ze grabbed the cat slave in Su Yuyao's arms, looked at the thing underneath it with ill intent, and said to Su Yuyao casually: "It is said that if the cat slave is castrated, it will live longer and grow meat. Do you want to castrate it?"
The raccoon seemed to understand what Su Ze said. It stopped barking immediately and looked at Su Ze with a flattering look.
Su Yuyao grabbed the raccoon and held him in her arms, saying unhappily, "Brother, you are joking again."
"After we go back, can I still come to see the princess and Sister Luzhu?"
"of course can."
Hearing her brother nod, Su Yuyao said, "Then I will stay here to see Sister Luzhu today, and go back tomorrow!"
Su Ze looked at his clever sister and finally said helplessly: "Then we will move some things back today and move the rest tomorrow."
Seeing his sister like this, Su Ze could only sigh. Su Yuyao had been working hard to support the family since her father passed away. Girls of the same age in Jianyangli were also managing the household or getting married early. Su Yuyao had almost no playmates of the same age.
Thinking of this, Su Ze said to his sister, "Just stay for one day."
Su Yuyao changed the subject and said, "Brother, does this secret treasure of Fotucheng really exist?"
Su Ze was stunned for a moment, because as Su Yuyao asked the question, an exclamation mark appeared on the system.
task?
Moreover, this exclamation mark overlaps with my position. Could it be that my sister has assigned me a task?
[Su Yuyao's Doubts: Explore the secrets of Fotucheng's secret treasure and answer the questions of his younger sister Su Yuyao.]
Sure enough it is!
Su Ze immediately accepted the task. Every time a task was completed, it would mean a large-scale refresh of orange and purple followers, and it would also increase the number of columns in the store. Of course, Su Ze had to accept the task.
However, the previous system tasks were basically closely related to the general trend of history. According to Su Ze’s summary, they were all “key nodes” that could influence the course of history.
But this time, the mission is to investigate the rumors in Luoyang? And what is the truth about Fotucheng's secret treasure? Is it to find Fotucheng's secret treasure?
Having just accepted the task, Lu Zhu came to the gate of the courtyard and said to Su Ze: "Your Highness invites Captain Su to come over to discuss matters."
Su Ze thought about it and decided to go back to the house first. He took out the [Sperm Strengthening Pill] from the system warehouse, poured out a pill from the medicine bottle and swallowed it. Then he followed Lu Zhu to Princess Chenliu's boudoir.
. . .
"I'm dying. Why are you so fierce today?"
Princess Chenliu was sweating all over. She didn't understand. She had something important to discuss with Su Ze today, but how did she end up sitting on the couch and being "bullied" by this guy again?
The key point is that after a fierce battle last night, Princess Chenliu was urgently summoned to the palace in the morning. After listening to the gossip of her sister Princess Lanling all day, her body was exhausted. However, she did not expect that Su Ze, who had been visiting friends all day, was still so energetic. As a result, Princess Chenliu was now limp all over and lay powerlessly in Su Ze's arms.
"Your Highness summoned me down, isn't it for this matter?" Su Ze buried his head in Princess Chenliu's neck and asked in her ear.
Princess Chen Liu pushed Su Ze away. At this time, the sound of footsteps on the snow could be heard from outside the window. Princess Chen Liu spat and said, "Pets follow their owners. They are all male dogs in heat!"
"I called you here today for something important."
Seeing that Su Ze was about to do something rash again, Princess Chenliu took out a copper coin from the side of the couch, handed it to Su Ze and said, "Take a look at this."
This copper coin looks very simple and ancient, not as exquisite as the Taihe Wuzhu coin minted by Emperor Xiaowen. There are no words on the coin, and there is only a positive relief Buddhist swastika symbol on the front.
Su Ze weighed it and found that this coin was more than twice as heavy as the Taihe Wuzhu coin, and naturally it was also a size larger than the Taihe Wuzhu coin.
"what is this?"
Princess Chenliu said, "This is Buddhist money. It was collected by the Duzhi Cao in the Luoyang market."
Wait, Buddha money?
Su Ze suddenly thought of his new mission. Why did the clue to this mission come so quickly?
He asked hurriedly, "Is this the copper coin produced from the secret treasure of Fotucheng that I mentioned yesterday?"
Princess Chenliu nodded and said, "That's right. According to the person who used this coin, it was traded to him by a monk. He said that this coin was born from Fotucheng's money jar. There is great merit in the coin. One coin is worth ten coins of Taihe Wuzhu."
One penny is worth ten pennies?
Su Ze weighed it and said, "This one coin is only about the weight of two or three Taihe five-zhu coins. Is it worth ten coins?"
Princess Chenliu smiled and said, "Anyway, the merchant used it as ten coins. When he paid the market tax, he also paid it as ten coins to the Municipal Tax Temple. Then it was reported to the Ministry of Finance. After interrogation, the merchant said that the monk he traded with had many supernatural powers, and the Ministry of Finance reported it to the Queen Mother."
Su Ze narrowed his eyes and asked, "What is the Queen Mother's attitude?"
Princess Chenliu said, "The Queen Mother did not comment, but my brother, the Prince of Qinghe, insisted that the appearance of the Luoyang Buddha coins was a great blessing, and requested that the court issue an imperial decree to allow the Buddha coins to be exchanged for ten yuan each and circulated in the market."
Thank you for your support, I will continue to pay my debts today
(End of this chapter)