Chastity Layman

"My subject, Qin Lang, pays homage to the emperor!"

Shangyang Palace, Hanfeng Palace.

Qin Lang, who was in purple robe and jade belt, met Li Chengqian again after fifteen years.

He almost didn't recognize it, it was too different from his impression. In a daze, bits and pieces of the memories of the two of them surfaced in front of their eyes. When they first met, it was thirty-seven years ago, on the first day of June in the ninth year of Wude, on the day of the Xuanwu Gate Palace Change, the Qin Palace was besieged by palace soldiers and Qin Lang was in danger. Ask for orders, and carry the heads of Jian Jiancheng and Yuan Ji from the palace to the Qin Palace.

Solved the danger of Qin Wang's mansion, rescued Princess Changsun and Qin Wang's son Chengqian and others.

At that time, Cheng Qian was only eight years old, and with his four-year-old sister Li Zhi, she was full of admiration for him, and even came to condolences and awards. Later, Qin Lang became Cheng Qian's teacher, and then became his quasi-brother-in-law. From an eight-year-old child to an adult prince, Qin Lang was both a friend and a teacher to Cheng Qian.

The last time we met was fifteen years ago, at the foot of Mount Tai, Chengqian knelt down to him for help.

Qin Lang escorted Chengqian all the way and embraced Chengqian on the throne of the emperor, but as soon as he ascended the throne, he couldn't wait to drive Qin Lang out of the court.

The young man who used to be is no longer a human being. Knowing that Qin Lang and the emperor are coming, he changed his clothes early, even took a bath, sat in a wheelchair, and seemed to be in good spirits.

It's just that the almost snow-like hair, the haggard eyes, and the crooked half of the face made the Supreme Emperor look a little pitiful.

Poor people must have something to hate.

Seeing him like this, Qin Lang even felt a little refreshed in his heart.

Li Yin on the opposite side looked at Qin Lang, and seemed to be caught in some kind of memory, and didn't make a sound for a long time.

"The emperor?"

Li Zhao called out from the side.

"Oh, Saburo is here, sit down." The emperor spoke, slurring his words and slurring his voice.

The monarch and his ministers looked at each other and were silent for a while.

Emperor Li Zhao sat on the side, also a little uneasy.

The atmosphere was awkward.

"I'm tired."

After a long time, Li Yin broke the silence and waved his right hand feebly, "Go back."

Qin Lang didn't have anything to say, what should he say? Li Yin has now, even though he committed suicide by himself, he was kicked out of power by Qin Lang's son after all. For Li Yin, the double blow of body and spirit, without a faint, is already the will of the emperor strong.

As of now, nothing can be changed.

Although Li Yin is now almost under house arrest in Shangyang Palace, and can only be active in Hanfeng Palace, he does not know the outside situation, but since time has passed for almost two months, and Qin Lang has come to Beijing, it means that Everything is a foregone conclusion.

Based on deduction, Li Yin knew that there was no possibility of a comeback. Besides, who would support him?

Do you expect Li Ji to be Xiao Siye, or the eunuch Gao Hu?

These people should have been eliminated by now.

What's more, who would support the restoration of a paralyzed emperor?

"The minister will leave!"

"Please take care of yourself, the Supreme Emperor!"

Qin Lang resigned and left with Emperor Li Zhao.

On the way, the monarch and his subjects were silent all the way.

After leaving the gate of Shangyang Palace, the emperor said, "The emperor is recovering very well."

"The saint need not worry."

The emperor seemed to be in a strange mood, so he didn't say anything more to Qin Lang, and the two separated directly. The emperor returned to the palace, and Qin Lang went to Guo Xiaoke's mansion to express his condolences.

The two brothers Guo Daifeng and Guo Daipin went out to greet them, dressed in hemp and mourning, with a sad look on their faces.

"Congratulations."

There are empty coffins in the mourning hall, with Guo Xiaoke's clothes inside, and Guo Daizhao's clothes and coffins on the other side.

"Grand Master, please help. Our brothers are willing to serve under Dalang's command and go to the Western Regions to hunt for thieves."

Guo Daifeng wept bitterly, "Grandpa and brother's corpses are still in the hands of the Hulu rebels. I am not filial, and I ask the grand master for help."

Guo Xiaoke's entire army was wiped out, father and son persisted in fighting until the last moment, and died together on the battlefield. After death, their heads were chopped off by the Turks, and their bodies were abandoned on the battlefield.

For the Guo family brothers, this is a disgrace to the Guo family. As sons of man, they have the responsibility to go to the Western Regions to find and bury the heads of their father and brother.

The Guo family brothers are also court officials now, and according to the system, they have to mourn their father Ding You for three years and are not allowed to be officials.

"Guo Gong and my Qin family were both fellows of Wagang. This time, they sacrificed their lives for the country. The court will definitely avenge Guo Gong. I should have advised you to stay at home and take care of your mother and sisters, but I can't refuse your request. Get ready. Let's go to Qin Jun's army tomorrow and go to the Western Regions together."

Guo Xiaoke's wives, concubines and daughters also supported the brothers' decision.

Qin Lang handed over an edict, which was drafted by Zhongshu Province, issued by the province, and signed and sealed by the Minister of Political Affairs.

Guo Xiaoke was posthumously named the governor of Anxi, the Duke of An Guo, and the general of Fuguo, and Guo Daizhao was posthumously named the governor of Beiting, the Duke of Yangdi County, and the champion general.

Guo Xiaoke's posthumous title is Zhonglie, and Guo Daizhao's posthumous title is Zhuang.

Guo Xiaoke's title of Duke of Anguo was inherited by his second son Guo Daifeng, and Guo Daizhao's title of Duke of Yangzhai County was inherited by his eldest son.

Although Guo Daifeng was a general's son, he also studied literature, and he was the same as Zhang Jiuling in the imperial examination of the previous subject, and he was a Jinshi.

Qin Lang promised to arrange for Guo Daifeng to join the army and let him obey orders under Qin Jun's tent. Guo Daipin is still practicing martial arts and works in Qianniuwei. Qin Lang gave him a lieutenant in the regiment school, and he went to Qin Jun's tent to listen to orders.

The imperial court treated Guo Xiaoke and his son well.

Mrs. Guo wiped her tears and was very grateful, "Brothers from the British government came over earlier, and Li Erlang said that some people in the court wanted to make trouble, and they actually said that Alang was bereaved and humiliated the country, and should be punished. Someone took the opportunity to impeach him and said that Alang used to be extravagant in the Western Regions. When he was in the army, he also liked to support him, and he was impeached for waste and corruption..."

"Fortunately, the grand master upheld justice for Alang in the court."

"Guo Gong and his son sacrificed their lives for the country, how can the court punish the crime of loyalty instead?" Qin Lang comforted, and indeed many people in the court wanted to convict Guo Xiaoke. He had been in the Western Regions for many years, but in the end, not only could he not control the situation in time, but also Defeating the teacher and humiliating the country led to the corruption of the situation in the Western Regions. Of course, there is an unshirkable responsibility.

Not to mention that some officials impeached him for being extravagant and extravagant, and even corruption and other things are not all fake.

In the eyes of the barbarians, Jiuzhen in the Western Regions, he is like a local emperor, with great power, and the imperial court in the Western Regions is also involved in Silk Road trade and immigration settlements.

Anyway, Guo Xiaoke has indeed made a lot of money over the years.

However, Qin Lang spoke to Guo Xiaoke at the meetings of the Political Affairs Hall and the Imperial Court. After all, Guo Xiaoke didn't drink soldiers' blood and eat empty wages to engage in deduction. He just used his power to engage in smuggling by the army, asking merchants for food and cards, and even taking the opportunity to circle some places to farm by himself, or to join forces with some Merchants engage in commercial settlements and so on.

This kind of use of power for personal gain happens everywhere.

Guo Xiaoke is relatively restrained, at least he did not embezzle the military salaries and supplies of the Western Regions army, the number of the Western Regions army was not small, and the military and civilian settlements were not invaded.

As for losing the war, Guo Xiaoke cannot be entirely blamed.

Now that the counterattack is imminent, Guo Xiaoke should not be investigated for public or private purposes at this time, otherwise the soldiers stationed in the Western Regions will be in danger, and how can they fight? After all, Guo Xiaoke's matter is not for him alone, it is for the entire Western Regions The military and even prefectural officials also participated.

For example, set up a card to collect money from merchants. Could it be that Guo Xiaoke took the money alone? Another example is to enclose some land for commercial settlements or directly build manors. This is also common.

In other words, this kind of thing, at least in the border states, is very common.

What's more, Guo Xiaoke is also from the Wagang family, and his eldest son, Guo Daizhao, used to play generals and fight games with Qin Lang and Cheng Chumo in Wagang. Although Guo Xiaoke is closer to Li Ji, he came out of Wagang after all. of.

At this time, of course Qin Lang had to protect his own people.

So in the end, Guo Xiaoke was not only innocent, but he was determined to be a loyal and meritorious person, and the mourning and glory after his father and son were not bad. Even the posthumous title was drawn up by Qin Lang himself, which is much better than the one discussed by the Taichang Temple monk.

After sitting at Guo's house for a meeting, Qin Lang bid farewell and left.

The brothers of the Guo family sent them to the door in person. They were very grateful to Qin Lang. Looking at the grateful eyes of the two brothers, Qin Lang knew that the Guo family owed the Qin family a great favor. In the future, the Guo family would definitely stand firmly behind the Qin family. Here, those who support the Qin family.

He got into the carriage and returned to the Political Affairs Hall.

"The transfer envoy Li Gong and the household envoy Ma Gong came to visit."

Walking under the hall, Di Renjie came up to greet him and reported someone to visit.

Di Renjie was arrested for organizing students from Luoyang Academy City to parade in front of Luoyang Palace. The six people who were arrested together were designated as the organizers, known as the Six Gentlemen. Afterwards, the imperial court imposed severe punishments, including the expulsion of student status and fame, and the severe punishment of never being hired.

Originally, Di Renjie was already a candidate, and he was about to enter the Beijing Examination, but when this incident happened, his future was ruined.

Di Renjie's life is over.

Unexpectedly, there was a palace change in the court very soon, Qin Jun supported King Qin as the crown prince and then the new emperor, and then Grand Master Qin Lang entered the court to take charge.

Qin Lang not only took back all the punishments for the previous student incident, but even rewarded the six leaders who took the lead. Qin Lang personally invited the emperor and conferred the title of baron on the six.

Although it is only a false title, a false baron for life, this matter has a huge impact.

Afterwards, Qin Lang even gave these six gentlemen a job as a walker under the political affairs hall, and asked them to practice in the political affairs hall.

Walking under the hall is not a formal official position, it is only equivalent to a temporary errand, in fact, it is an internship in the political affairs hall.

After all, it is the core institution of Datang Central, and young people can come in for an internship. This is a valuable resume and will be of great help to the future.

Di Renjie was already preparing for the exam in March, but he still accepted Qin Lang's kindness and came to the Political Affairs Hall with Li Jingye, Pei Yan, Wei Yuanzhong and others.

There are not many things to do every day, anyway, just running errands, transcribing and sorting out chores such as serving tea and pouring water, the things that can be lived, and the people you come into contact with are still quite precious.

Di Renjie was in charge of tea and other miscellaneous tasks in the first assistant Qin Lang's public house.

"Please Huaiying get me some snacks and dried fruits."

Thirty-two-year-old Di Renjie was born in Taiyuan's Di family, which can be considered a famous noble family. He passed the examination when he was in his twenties, but he failed several times in the subsequent examinations. He was recruited as an official under his curtain, and because of his outstanding ability in handling affairs, he was recommended to be the judge of Bianzhou, and later recommended by Yan Liben, and was promoted to the legal counsel of the Governor's Mansion of Bingzhou.

At the age of thirty, he can say that his official career is already good, but Di Renjie decided to go to Luoyang to take the Jinshi examination last year. Unexpectedly, he failed to pass the Jinshi examination, and instead became the leader of students' troubles, and all his academic achievements were dismissed.

Fortunately, I met Qin Lang, who is now walking under the hall while preparing for the Jinshi examination, but with his current reputation as a six gentleman and his status as walking under the hall, it can be said that the March examination is basically guaranteed to be a Jinshi.

After all, he has been an official for ten years, and he is no better than a student who devotes himself to studying. When Di Renjie came to Qin Lang's place, he behaved steadily and won Qin Lang's praise several times.