It doesn't matter what the truth is. It doesn't matter whether the thing is good or evil. It doesn't matter whether An Lushan did anything to rob and kill Zhang Jiuling's family.

The emperor did not have much sense of right and wrong in his eyes. Although he talked about justice and morality all day long, and talked about "mandate of destiny" and "benevolence and righteousness" all day long, the fact is that in the five thousand years of Chinese history, no emperor has ever

Have you done any unspeakable bad things? Secret affairs in the palace, fights in the court, one after another, everyone is like shit, and you can't even wipe it clean.

So Li Longji didn't care much about whether An Lushan had killed his whole family. Li Longji was the emperor, and An Lushan was a general with military power. They were both at the top of the pyramid, and their moral bottom lines were basically at the same level.

They are all extremely low.

In the center of power in the court, Gu Qing's official position was not important. He was just a small left-guard chief, still far away from the center of power. But Li Longji gradually realized that Gu Qing was very important.

First of all, Gu Qing's parents inadvertently accumulated a certain amount of connections in Chang'an, including Zuowei Zuolang general Li Guangbi, Honglu Temple minister Zhang Jiuzhang, including Zhang Jiuzhang's younger brother Zhang Jiugao, who is now the governor of Guangzhou, and Li Twelve, who is known to be influential among Chang'an people.

Mom, this is just on the surface. Gu Qing's parents knew more than just these few people back then, but now there are not many people who know Gu Qing's identity, and these are the only ones who have gathered together temporarily.

The connections he made unintentionally back then can now be used by Gu Qing. After a while, old friends from back then will come out one after another, and I am afraid they will become a considerable force in the court.

Secondly, Gu Qing is talented and capable. The eighteen-year-old boy is neither arrogant nor impetuous, and is calm in his work. Li Longji even wondered whether Gu Qing's two jail sentences were intentional to show weakness and show his weakness, giving people the impression of being rude and impulsive.

, and no longer be wary of him. If so, this young man's city would be too terrifying.

In the palace, Concubine Yang regarded Gu Qing as her biological brother. Outside, Yang Guozhong cooperated with Gu Qing to run the gossip paper. Li Longji was about to suppress Li Linfu's power as prime minister. This young man immediately offended Li Linfu and expressed his "politically correct" attitude very clearly.

Now Li Longji knows about the old case between Zhang Jiuling and An Lushan. In terms of Li Longji's imperial mentality, there is no one in the world who can be completely trusted. If An Lushan has too much power in the future, Li Longji will eventually have to deal with him.

Play with checks and balances. After all, this is what Li Longji has been doing all his life.

It was such a coincidence that God sent Gu Qing here. Gu Qing happened to have a sworn hatred with An Lushan for killing his parents. He was simply a God-given person to check and balance An Lushan.

Unexpectedly, when he thought of all that Gu Qing had done, Li Longji suddenly felt that this young man was a lucky star given to him by God to consolidate his country.

The most important thing is that Gu Qing is a newcomer to the officialdom. He has no party or faction. At most, he only has a few old friends of his parents. It is safe to use such a person. In the future, Yang Guozhong will replace Li Linfu as the prime minister. According to the convention of the emperor's mind, in the court

A force is also needed to check and balance Yang Guozhong. Donggong may be able to check and balance him, but Yang Guozhong is unlearned and unskilled and is not safe enough to do things. He is very likely to fall. So after Yang Guozhong, is there a need for a candidate to check and balance him?

By that time, Gu Qing should have grown up. If he has not grown up, he will be an abandoned son, and there is no harm in abandoning him.

The more Li Longji thought about it, the more it made sense. As for alternate players, they should start from the young.

Lowering his head and looking at the poem written by Gu Qing in his hand, Li Longji suddenly smiled meaningfully.

"What's going on in the East Palace recently?"

Gao Lishi said cautiously: "Since your Majesty dismissed Wannian County Magistrate and promoted Gu Qing to an official position, Prime Minister Li's illness has become more and more serious. What's interesting is that more than ten courtiers from three provinces and six ministries who are attached to Prime Minister Li have asked for transfer.

The power of Prime Minister Li has been greatly weakened due to the local government or his return to his hometown. The ministers in the East Palace are now busy building momentum. Many wavering courtiers in the court have secretly defected to the East Palace. Originally, the power of the Prime Minister in the court was suppressed.

In the East Palace, things are going up and down now."

Li Longji smiled sarcastically: "My prince is a little impatient. Sooner or later, the throne will be his. If you walk too fast, you will easily fall."

Gao Lishi laughed with him, but Wei Wei didn't dare to say a word.

The matter involved the most sensitive topic in the East Palace. Gao Lishi was extremely trusted by Li Longji and did not dare to interrupt. If he was not careful, he would be killed. For the emperor who created the prosperous Kaiyuan era, Gao Lishi knew him better than anyone else.

How heartless is it?

After pondering for a moment, Li Longji said again: "Hasn't Dong Gong tried to win over Gu Qing recently?"

"Your Majesty, I have not won over Gu Qing."

Li Longji looked at the poem in his hand and said with a smile: "Perhaps I have never thought of winning over a mere Zuowei Changshi before, but after Gu Qing wrote this poem, the East Palace should notice him. In less than three days, the East Palace will

There must be action.”

Gao Lishi said cautiously: "The history of Zuo Wei...is that important?"

"The history of Zuo Wei is not important, but Gu Qing is important." Li Longji paused and said: "If you can find out the details of Gu Qing, the East Palace can also find out. Gu Qing is talented and capable, and he still has his parents.

He has many connections and is as close as a brother and sister to my wife. He and Yang Guozhong also co-organized the gossip newspaper. Moreover, he and Dong Gong have a common enemy, Li Linfu... Look, this young man has conquered this place in less than half a year since he came to Chang'an.

Such a situation is terrifying for future generations. It’s amazing. If Dong Gong doesn’t take the initiative to win over Gu Qing within three days, I will be even more disappointed with him..."

…………

In the golden month of September, the city of Chang'an is filled with autumn colors. The leaves of ginkgo trees begin to turn yellow, and the cool autumn wind blows, dropping golden yellow all over the ground. The straight Suzaku Avenue seems to be paved with an amber jade belt.

I was just about to go to Zuowei to answer Mao in the early morning, but Butler Xu sent three letters.

A letter came from the Jiedu Envoy Office in Yizhou and was sent by Xianyu Zhongtong. Xianyu Zhongtong seemed to have an informant in Chang'an and knew everything Gu Qing did in Chang'an. First of all, he congratulated Gu Qing on his promotion, and secondly he told him to communicate with Yang Guifei and Yang Guozhong.

To build a good relationship, it is not appropriate to have grudges with others. You must be especially careful in front of the emperor and never say the wrong thing.

Finally, Xianyu Zhongtong casually mentioned a few words in the letter, regarding Song Gensheng's promotion of filial piety and honesty. Xianyu Zhongtong said in an understatement that it was just a small matter. It happened that due to the chaos in Nanzhao at the beginning of the year, there were relatively large changes in officials in the states and counties in Jiannan Province, and some

The prefectures and counties were originally occupied by the Nanzhao rebels. After the rebels entered the city, they often killed officials and civilians. Many officials died in the war. After the rebellion was over, there was an acute shortage of officials in various prefectures and counties in Jiannan Province. The Ministry of Civil Affairs dispatched a group of officials to take up their posts.

.

The good news is that because Wei Du was transferred away and the post of Qingcheng County Magistrate was vacant, Song Gensheng, the chief registrar, was directly appointed as the county magistrate by Xian Yu Zhongtong in the name of "promoting filial piety and integrity".

There are strict rules for the promotion of officials in the Tang Dynasty. The chief official of a county must be a Jinshi in the scientific examination, but the rules are dead and the people are alive. Especially in Jiannan Road, it is now after the war.

Reconstruction, there are special circumstances, and Xianyu Zhongtong established his authority in Jiannan Road due to the war to quell the rebellion. The Jiedushi had the power to control the local military affairs, so Song Gensheng was directly controlled by Xianyu Zhongtong with a written order.

He was immediately appointed as the magistrate of Qingcheng County.

Gu Qing was stunned after reading the letter. He was stunned for a long time before he smiled bitterly.

"The eighteen-year-old county magistrate... This guy seems to have a better official career than me. Will I have to hug his thigh until the end?" Gu Qing murmured to himself.

When I think of myself looking shameless a few years later, hugging Song Gensheng's thigh, licking it while hugging him, while Song Gensheng had a look of disgust on his face and kept shaking himself away like a bull demon shaking off cow lice...

The picture is so beautiful, it gives me chills.

Gu Qing secretly decided that if one day comes, he must stick to his moral integrity...it's okay to hug his thigh, but he must not lick it. There must be a bottom line in life.

There is also a letter from Song Gensheng. In the letter, Song Gensheng details his recent life. Ever since Gu Qing taught the Zhao County Lieutenant a lesson, Song Gensheng's life in the county government has been very comfortable, and his status is somewhat aloof. Even the county magistrate Wei Du spoke to him.

They were all polite, and County Lieutenant Zhao held a banquet for three days to apologize to Song Gensheng. From then on, no one dared to make things difficult for Song Gensheng.

In addition, Song Gensheng got engaged and held a three-day party in Shiqiao Village. Song Gensheng got very drunk on the night of the engagement. Because Gu Qing could not attend his engagement banquet, he felt very disappointed and felt that something was missing.

, life is not perfect anymore.

Finally, Song Gensheng mentioned in his letter that he suddenly received a transfer order from the Jiedushi Government and was promoted to Qingcheng County Magistrate.

This order shocked and frightened Song Gensheng, who was completely confused. He suspected that he was involved in some political conspiracy, and asked Gu Qing to help find out.

Gu Qing laughed. This guy had been working as the chief clerk of the county government for a while, and he had become somewhat politically aware. He was not happy about the promotion for no reason. He also thought of a political conspiracy, which meant that he had not been in vain as the chief clerk and had made progress.

Then Gu Qing became worried again.

With Song Gensheng's simple character, it might be okay to be a strict bookkeeper, but it would be beyond his capabilities to be the head of a county. There are too many and complicated aspects that the county magistrate has to take into account. The top has to please the governor, and the bottom has to win over.

The county magistrate and county lieutenant are also in charge of the farming, mulberry and water conservancy merchants in the county, building roads and bridges to unite neighboring clans, and must compromise when it is time to compromise, and be tough when it is time to be tough...

Gu Qing asked himself, if he had been the county magistrate, he might not be able to do it well. With Song Gensheng's stupid and cute attributes, could he be a good county magistrate?

Feeling worried, Gu Qing wanted to write a letter to Song Gensheng to say something, but he didn't know where to start.

Although Song Gensheng had called Gu Qing daddy, he was not his biological son after all. He still had to walk the road on his own. Gu Qing could not help much in the officialdom. After all, he did not have many connections. The only one who could barely count his background was Xian Yu.

Now that Zhongtong is here, for Gu Qing's sake, Xianyu Zhongtong will probably give him a bit of a thumbs-down.

Thinking of this, Gu Qing decided not to write a reply to Song Gensheng for the time being, but he must write a letter to Xian Yu Zhongtong tonight, asking him to take care of Song Gensheng, a rookie in officialdom. The trajectory of history has changed, and Gu Qing doesn't know how long Xian Yu Zhongtong can still be an official.

As the Jiedu envoy of Jiannan Road, since he is still in office, he must use his power if he doesn't use it. As for the matter of owing favors, if he stays for a few more years, maybe he will be the object of Xianyu Zhongtong's fawning.

, as long as Xianyu Zhongtong dared to ask for the favor he owed, he would dare to give it to him.

On the way to Zuowei Yingmao, Gu Qing felt an inexplicable sense of urgency.

Song Gensheng has already become the county magistrate of the seventh rank. Gu Qing, the long history of the sixth rank, is a little panicked. If he is really surpassed by that guy, how can he have the nerve to beat him if he disagrees with him in the future? It is not polite to beat a Shangguan after all.

I have to find a way to get promoted, it's too slow.

In less than a year, Gu Qing was promoted from a commoner to a sixth-rank official, but he actually thought that the promotion was too slow...

…………

Entering Zuo Wei's residence, he met a eunuch wearing purple clothes and a white face without a beard. The eunuch stood smiling at the door of Gu Qing's office. It seemed that he had been waiting for a long time.

Gu Qing was stunned for a moment, then stepped forward to greet him.

The eunuch seemed to have asked about Gu Qing's appearance, and Gu Qing's unhappy look had become his unique signature. The eunuch didn't even need to ask, he was sure it was him at first sight.

"My servant pays homage to the left guard Gu Changshi." The eunuch bowed to Gu Qing and saluted.

Jufan eunuchs are all ruthless characters. Gu Qing did not dare to be disrespectful and hurriedly returned the courtesy: "You're welcome, I don't know what you mean..."

"This slave is from the East Palace and serves His Royal Highness the Prince's Xiaohuangmen."

Gu Qing's eyebrows jumped.

Indirectly offending Li Linfu, he got along with Yang Guozhong cautiously, racking his brains to think of how to flatter the imperial concubine. There was also the unpredictable Li Longji, and Gu Qing was struggling to deal with many forces. Now the prince's force

Came to the door again.

Did he become the favorite of Chang'an City for no reason? Everyone rushed to take a bite of him.

Putting aside the helplessness in his heart, Gu Qing politely raised his hands and said: "I wonder, Your Highness..."

The eunuch smiled and said: "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has heard for a long time that Gu Chang's epic poem is unparalleled and his talent is unparalleled in ancient and modern times. His Royal Highness admires him very much and hates that he has never known Jing. He is willing to have a close relationship with Gu Chang Shi. Three days later, on the ninth day of September, when he climbed up to the Double Ninth Festival, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was in Lishan Mountain.

We are hosting a banquet in honor of the courtiers and celebrities of the time. Please take the time to attend the banquet, Chief Gu."

Gu Qing looked hesitant, and countless thoughts flashed through his mind.

It is not easy to accept this invitation, but the Prince of the East Palace invites you, so it would be rude not to accept it.

Now the Chang'an court is at a delicate juncture. Li Linfu is about to grow old. The next prime minister Yang Guozhong is destined to oppose the prince in the future. Gu Qing has indirectly expressed his support for Yang Guozhong because of the gossip report. Now the prince invites him again

, this is the rhythm of forcing yourself to become a grassroots.

Seeing Gu Qing's hesitant expression, the eunuch seemed to have prepared his words and said: "Gu Changshi, His Highness the Crown Prince has not only invited you for the Double Ninth Festival, but also many dignitaries and courtiers in Chang'an City, including Zhang Jiuzhang, the minister of Honglu Temple.

, Taifu Qing Yang Guozhong and others."

Gu Qing frowned. He said this softly but with a strong tone. It probably meant that so many courtiers were invited and you would be ignorant if you refused.

But since Yang Guozhong was invited, Gu Qing didn't care.
Chapter completed!