Tibet

Li Heng's biggest problem is that he has a soft ear and is easy to listen to slander. He listened to Yu Chaoen's slander and made a rash decision to take back the Yanzhou oil well.

Originally, he didn't care about a little bit of kerosene. It was reasonable for Li Ye to send troops to protect the oil wells. As long as he didn't interfere in Yanzhou's government affairs, he could turn a blind eye.

However, Yu Chaoen repeatedly exaggerated the role of kerosene and criticized Li Ye for garrisoning troops in Yanzhou without permission, which was of a bad nature. Li Heng's head turned upside down and he turned against him.

Now Li Ye has occupied Xiaoguan and issued a stern warning. If ignored, the Helong Cavalry will directly occupy Yanzhou. Will the court fight or not? War means the situation has escalated. Without war, the court will lose face.

Realizing that the situation was serious, Li Heng asked nervously: "Then what should I do according to the wishes of the Prime Minister?"

"Your Majesty, I suggest that we negotiate with Li Ye and restore Yanzhou to its original status. Helong and the imperial court sign a mineral mining agreement. The kerosene is mined for a fee, and a certain amount of compensation must be paid to the imperial court. Secondly, instead of directly garrisoning troops, hire warriors from outside. What do you think, Your Majesty, of protecting oil wells?"

Li Heng thought about it and concluded that this plan was good, well-founded, reasonable and legal, and the court also saved face.

"What about Xiao Guan? Is he willing to give up?"

"The humble position will convince him that both sides will not station troops in Xiaoguan and hand it over to the jurisdiction of Xiaoguan County as an ordinary customs customs. Your Majesty, in fact, the defense of Xiaoguan is of little significance. If the Helong Army wants to go south, Yanzhou, Xiazhou, There are many canyons in Yinzhou, and Weichen went there when he was young."

Li Heng had no choice but to agree, "Aiqing, please leave as soon as possible! It's hard work for Aiqing to make this trip."

"We will leave as soon as possible, but I hope that His Majesty will not change it after making the decision. Although the eunuchs are loyal to Your Majesty, they have been in the palace for many years and do not understand the situation. They will make misjudgments, which will intensify conflicts."

Li Heng's face heated up and he nodded, "I make my own decision!"

Wei Jiansu left, but unexpectedly, Li Fuguo did not take the matter further. Li Fuguo also knew that the situation was serious. If Li Ye really killed him in Guanzhong, his own life would be hard to save. At this time, he could only endure it for a while. , let’s talk after the situation calms down.

At noon, Wude Restaurant was bustling with people. In a private room on the second floor, Li Dai and Dugu Ming were sitting opposite each other drinking.

"Brother Xian seems to be very worried, why?" Dugu Ming asked with a smile.

"It's so stressful!"

Li Dai sighed, "You know how I felt this morning. I was trembling and walking on thin ice. I just wished there was a hole in the ground and I could just crawl into it."

Dugu Ming smiled slightly and said: "I completely understand your feelings, and this will happen more and more in the future. When the war in the east is over, the attention of the emperor and the court will shift to the west. Dear brother, you must be mentally prepared .”

"After careful consideration, I have decided to resign as Prime Minister!"

Dugu Ming was slightly startled, but then he understood. The court was paying more and more attention to Li Ye. As a father, Li Dai was in a very difficult situation and had no choice but to resign.

"It doesn't matter if you resign as prime minister. Seeing that the court is about to enter a troubled period, like me, I can be more detached."

Li Dai asked in confusion: "Does troubled times mean something is going to happen?"

Dugu Ming nodded, "After the Anshi Rebellion, many conflicts that were previously suppressed due to the war will break out. For example, the ruling group's attitude towards military generals will be completely different, and trust will be completely lost. Even the Supreme Emperor, although he is old, But he won’t give up until he closes his eyes. Also, I heard that a group of royals are preparing to cause trouble, but I don’t know if it has anything to do with the Supreme Emperor.”

Li Dai was a little surprised and asked: "Which royal family is going to cause trouble?"

"I don't know the details. I first heard that King Xue's money was buried in the palace and was found by An Lushan's soldiers and all was taken away. Now that the rebellion between An Lushan and Shi Siming is over, his property has not been returned. When he came back, he was dissatisfied and asked the court for compensation. You should know this!"

Li Dai nodded, "I know about this. King Xue came to Zhengshi Hall several times to make trouble. We all told him that not only his wealth was robbed, but also the wealth of many royal family and dignitaries was robbed. This is war." , he didn’t care, I heard that he even went to the emperor to make trouble, but in the end it was settled.”

"It won't be settled!"

Dugu Ming sneered and said: "King Xue found a dozen more royal dignitaries who suffered the same fate and formed a denunciation group to collectively demand that the emperor compensate them for their losses."

Li Dai shook his head, "These people are really stupid. One person may be able to compensate a little, but with so many people, who can afford to compensate them? But aren't their wealth stored in Baoji Cabinet?"

"Forget it, it was originally stored in Baoji Cabinet, but after the news of Anlu Mountain's rebellion came, most of the powerful and royal family took the money away. I thought they would transport it away by themselves, but I didn't expect that they were still buried in various places in Chang'an. , some were buried in the backyard of the mansion, and some were buried in the farm. As a result, An Lushan tortured their servants and confessed, and all the money was dug up. If they were still placed in the Baoji Cabinet, I would still help them. Ship it to Chengdu, these stupid guys."

Li Dai pondered for a moment and said, "Ye'er told me that after Luoyang was captured, some of the wealth of the powerful was found in the palace treasury."

Dugu Ming looked both ways and whispered, "Did I tell you alone, or did I tell you and Wei Xiangguo publicly?"

"You told me alone."

"Then, dear brother, just keep silent! Ye'er's army needs hundreds of thousands of military salary every month. Now is not the time to be a good person."

"I know, I'll tell my brother."

Dugu Ming filled a glass of wine for Li Dai and asked, "Brother Xian, do you really want to resign?"

Li Dai nodded, "I have decided to submit my resignation tomorrow!"

When Li Dai returned to his house, his wife Pei Sanniang came forward with an unhappy look on her face and said, "Li Xiu is here. I didn't drive him away. He's in the living room!"

Li Dai was not in a good mood today. When he heard that his elder brother Li Xiu was coming, his face sank slightly and he reluctantly said, "I'll go see him!"

Pei Sanniang grabbed her husband and warned, "Don't be the same person as this kind of person. It's not worth getting angry!"

Li Dai nodded, "I know!"

Li Dai was extremely disgusted with this elder brother and had harassed him more than once, asking for money and a house.

After the news of An Lushan's occupation of Luoyang came, house prices in Chang'an plummeted and gold and silver prices soared. Li Dai followed his son's advice and, with the unanimous support of his clan members, sold off his clan's silver and bought nearly twenty buildings at the lowest price. acres of yards, successfully solving the housing problem for the younger generation of children.

But as the head of the Xici family, Li Xiu did not have such foresight. On the contrary, at his instigation, the three elders sold the house at a low price. When they returned to Chang'an, the three elders did not have a house to live in. Not only did they scold Li Xiu He was so angry that he even moved into the main house and squeezed in with Li Xiu.

Li Xiu kept coming to harass Li Dai, asking him to give half of the bargain-hunting house to Xici, but Li Dai refused.

In the end, Li Xiu had to sell two restaurants and buy three courtyards in Xianyang County and Xinfeng County to solve the housing problem of the three elders. This decision aroused strong dissatisfaction among other tribesmen. This was tantamount to taking everyone's money. money to solve the housing problem of three side families, but they did not use any money from selling their own houses.

In the end, there was such a fuss that all the concubines and several side branches left the West Temple and returned to the East Temple.

At present, there are only four direct descendants and three branch elders left in the West Ancestral Hall: Li Xiu, Li Wei, Li Yu and Li Min. Among them, Li Wei and Li Min were liquidated because of their loyalty to Anlu Mountain, and they were sent to Lingnan together with their children. .

Li Xiu was very lucky. He was originally going to become Anlushan's Prime Minister and Minister of Household Affairs, but his son Li Yu cut off his right wrist with a sword and became disabled. Anlushan also abandoned him like a rag and no longer used him. , he was a blessing in disguise and was not liquidated.

Of course, this is the credit of his son Li Yu, but the father and son have turned against each other since then. Li Yu became the governor of Liang and never wrote a letter to his father.

Li Dai walked into the living room, and Li Xiupi greeted him with a smile, "Fifth brother is very busy!"