The monarch and his ministers dispersed, and Gu Qing also left the palace.

The conversation between Gu Qing and Yongwang Li Lin just now made the emperor and his ministers confused, but Li Lin undoubtedly understood it.

He understood the meaning of Gu Qing's words. The content of the conversation had no meaning, but Gu Qing's act of calling out Li Lin from among the ministers expressed a lot of meaning.

Reminiscent of the visits from major aristocratic families a few days ago, asking Li Lin to return the land occupied by Henan in Guanzhong. Today, Gu Qing called his name in public. This means that Gu Qing is already very dissatisfied with him. If he is still ignorant, the next conversation will definitely be unpleasant.

Maybe there will be no next conversation at all.

After leaving the palace, Li Lin, whose face was ashen, got on the carriage. Before getting on the carriage, Li Lin suddenly stopped and turned to ask the palace steward.

"How much land do we occupy in Guanzhong and Henan?"

The steward thought for a while and said: "About more than 10,000 hectares, all of which are high-quality fertile fields."

Li Lin snorted coldly: "The matter was entrusted to you, how did you handle it?"

The steward hurriedly said: "They were all bought with fair money..."

Seeing Li Lin's cold eyes, the steward lowered his head with a guilty conscience, and his voice became weaker and weaker: "...Some of them are ownerless lands. After the Anlushan Rebellion, many people left their hometowns with their families to seek refuge, and the land became vacant.

, some of them were massacred by the rebels. After the Anxi Army regained Guanzhong, those ownerless lands will naturally belong to us..."

Li Lin said with a frosty voice: "Today Gu Qing called my name in front of the civil and military officials of the entire dynasty. This incident makes me feel particularly humiliated. The root cause is that you occupied the land."

The steward was startled: "Prince Gu, humiliated His Highness in public?"

"It's not humiliating. He was even very polite, but I'm not stupid. Don't I know what he means? I didn't take it to heart when major aristocratic families came to visit me a few days ago. But today, Gu Qing called his name in public. I can no longer ignore it...

"

The steward whispered: "It seems that the princes and princesses who occupied the land with His Highness have returned the land..."

Li Lin said coldly: "So, now that I am the only one who has not returned the land, in Gu Qing's eyes, I am a hard nut to crack?"

The steward said: "Your Highness is a nobleman of the Tian family, how can you be afraid of a young man who has made a fortune from a mountain village? Just ignore him, I don't believe what he dares to do to Your Highness."

Li Lin suddenly raised his leg and kicked the steward hard, and said angrily: "What a fart! This mountain village man is even afraid of the emperor. He holds a hundred thousand elites in his hands. Who dares to ignore him?"

Do you want to kill me?"

The steward turned pale with fright and hurriedly bowed to apologize.

The muscles in Li Lin's cheeks trembled slightly.

Although the land was half-bought and half-robbed, it was in his own pocket after all. Li Lin felt really distressed to ask him to return the land.

After hesitating and struggling for a long time, Li Lin said coldly: "Half of the land we occupy will be given to the local prefectures and counties. Half is enough. Even if Gu Qing is powerful, he should not go too far. I have already given him enough face."

The steward responded hurriedly.

…………

Gu Qing returned to the palace and was greeted by Duan Wuji as soon as he entered.

"Your Majesty, the student just received a letter of greeting and wishes to see Your Majesty..."

Gu Qing frowned: "When the court officials see me now, most of them are people who are in favor of others. There is no need to see me. They can just refuse for me."

Duan Wuji said: "Yes, the students helped the prince to reject many people, but the students felt that this person should be met by the prince."

"Who?"

"My surname is Cui and my name is Yuan. I was born in the Cui family of Qinghe. I am a minister of Zhongshu and work with Ping Zhangshi."

Gu Qing muttered: "Cui Yuan? It seems that you have heard of this person. It is not a small thing to be the Minister of Zhongshu. He is equivalent to the deputy prime minister."

Duan Wuji smiled and said: "That's why the student couldn't make up his mind, so he had to come to ask the prince for advice. This man is quite talented, and he is especially good at governing the people. The student met him for the first time, and from what he said, he seemed to want to defect to the prince."

Gu Qing smiled: "Dignified Deputy Prime Minister, why did you come to seek refuge with such a powerful minister like me?"

Duan Wuji sighed: "Although he is the minister of Zhongshu, it is inevitable that he will not be able to recognize his talents..."

"How to say?"

"Before the prince returned to the capital, there were some personnel changes in the court. The emperor wanted to remove Cui Yuan from the post of deputy prime minister, and sent him to the east to stay. He was obviously a civil official, but the emperor appointed him to the military position. How could he not appreciate his talent but not recognize him?"

Gu Qing frowned: "Dongdu is left behind? Luoyang is under the control of our Anxi Army. The current Dongdu guard is Li Guangbi and Uncle Li. The emperor..."

"Yes, the emperor wants to release Cui Yuanwai to Luoyang. It seems that he plans to take Luoyang and control it in the hands of the emperor."

Gu Qing sneered: "There are so many tricks, it's dizzying to see. The slap I just gave Shuofangjun wasn't enough, so I extended my hand to Luoyang."

Duan Wuji smiled and said: "If the prince nods, the emperor's decree cannot leave the palace. Moreover, Cui Yuan is not willing to accept this job. He knows that the situation in the court is treacherous, and the emperor and the prince are fighting openly and secretly, and he does not want to be involved.

, so he entered the palace and politely refused to be let out, but was severely scolded by the emperor. Cui Yuan probably felt resentful in his heart and simply turned to the prince."

As he spoke, Duan Wuji took out a famous letter from his pocket and handed it to Gu Qing.

Gu Qing opened it and blurted out: "The writing is very beautiful."

Writing has always been a pain for Gu Qing. His bad handwriting has not improved yet. When he sees someone writing beautiful handwriting, Gu Qing can't help but feel good about it.

The handwriting on the name card is a free and unrestrained running script. The handwriting is elegant and has a fairy-like temperament.

After scanning it carefully, Gu Qing put away the famous calligraphy and said: "You can arrange it. I will meet him and ask him to copy a few of the calligraphy for me while I practice my calligraphy."

Duan Wuji hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, my student's handwriting is also very good. Sister Huaiyu even praised me..."

Gu Qing said without hesitation: "You are becoming more and more slippery, and your writing is no longer the same. I am afraid that you will teach me bad things and not learn."

In the afternoon, Cui Yuan came to visit.

Gu Qing met him in the front hall of the palace.

Cui Yuan is over fifty years old. He wears an ordinary moon-white gown, has a long, slightly gray beard under his chin, and always has a polite smile on his face, which makes people feel good about him.

Gu Qing did not dare to show off and greeted him personally in the front hall. The two of them bowed separately and then entered the hall.

Before the greetings began, Cui Yuan took out a thick stack of copybooks from his arms and said with a smile: "I heard from Mr. Duan that His Highness the Duke is looking for copybooks, but there is a copy of the Wei stele "Twenty Products of Longmen" copied by Xiaguan here.

", I present it to Your Highness today for a little chat. If you think it is not enough, please give me your instructions. I have many copybooks from my early years for Your Highness to appreciate."

Gu Qing took the calligraphy with both hands, laughed, and said: "I was born in the mountains, and my knowledge and calligraphy are far inferior to those of the princes in the court. Fortunately, I still have the desire to learn, and I practice calligraphy in my spare time. I look forward to one day being able to enter the palace.

Mr. Cui’s message is a timely help, thank you very much.”

After speaking, Gu Qing carefully arranged the copybooks and gently placed them on the desk.

Cui Yuan watched Gu Qing's movements quietly with a smile, and was deeply impressed by his unpretentious and magnanimous style of not shying away from his origins and his awe-inspiring attitude towards knowledge.

The meeting was just by chance. They were both in the officialdom, and their words and intentions would not be too obvious. The two people often started to meet each other through small talk, observing each other and testing each other in meaningless chats, until finally,

Make your own decisions.

The same was true for Gu Qing and Cui Yuan. After the two sides chatted for a while, Gu Qing ordered a banquet, and soon the servants served hot food and wine.

Gu Qing raised a toast to Cui Yuan. After drinking for three rounds, Cui Yuan looked outside the palace, and when he looked back, he looked incredulous.

Seeing that Cui Yuan's expression was wrong, Gu Qing asked curiously: "What is Cui Shilang looking for?"

Cui Yuan said with a smile: "I have lost my decency. The banquets held in the homes of the dignitaries of the Tang Dynasty are all complete with wine, food, singing and dancing, but the palace of His Highness the Prince is so deserted and peaceful..."

Gu Qing sighed: "Mr. Cui, please don't misunderstand me. I don't mean to be rude to the minister, but there has never been a kabuki and music troupe in my house. I was born in the countryside. I used to worry about food and clothing in Shuzhou. Now I am considered to be prosperous, but I can't be a good person."

Forgetting my roots, I can’t live the extravagant life of the rich and powerful.”

Cui Yuan said in awe: "His Royal Highness is the only person who has shown self-discipline in his life. There are rumors that His Highness is murderous and powerful. Today it seems that they are all false rumors. A person can do it without forgetting his roots and not being extravagant.

He is much better than all the princes in the court, and the country is lucky to have a hero like His Highness come out of the blue."

Gu Qing smiled and said: "Young Master Cui is ridiculous. There are many things to do in this life, and I don't have the leisure to have extravagant fun."

Cui Yuan asked respectfully: "I dare you to ask the prince about your ambitions."

"Restore the prosperity of the previous dynasty and create peace for all ages."

Upon hearing this, Cui Yuan immediately walked out of the table, faced Gu Qing and said, "If His Highness will never change his aspirations throughout his life, I am willing to serve His Highness the County Prince."

The passion was surging and the mood was high, but Gu Qing was not excited. Instead, he looked at Cui Yuan quietly and said, "Are you doing it for the title or the peace and prosperity?"

Cui Yuan raised his head and looked directly into Gu Qing's eyes and said: "Xiaoguan believes that there is no conflict between the two. I assist His Highness, run errands, and benefit the people. With some merit, you will naturally have an official title."

Gu Qing smiled faintly. The atmosphere at this moment was no longer chatting, but equivalent to recruitment and application.

Gu Qing will ask questions and Cui Yuan will answer them. If the answer satisfies Gu Qing, then Gu Qing will take him under his wing. Otherwise, Gu Qing will not dare to want such a person who shouts loud slogans but does everything in a mess.

Gu Qing's expression was very casual, but Cui Yuan was very energetic, even more serious than when he took the policy examination. He also knew that this was the moment for Gu Qing to test himself. If his answer dissatisfied the prince,

, then he would have no choice but to go to Luoyang and be left behind, and from then on he would not be able to develop his talents for the rest of his life.

"Give you a state city, how should you govern it?" Gu Qing suddenly asked.

Cui Yuan said without hesitation: "Capture the big ones and let go the small ones. I will decide the strategy. I will leave the promulgation and implementation of the decree to the county magistrate below."

"If you take up the post of governor of the state, what will be your first priority?"

"Land, food."

"Why?"

Cui Yuan blurted out: "Discuss with the local wealthy gentry landlords to strictly control the encroachment and annexation of the land under their control by the landlords, use tax reduction and corvee reduction as a bargaining chip to force the landlords to compromise, and try to minimize the loss of local farmers' land and become serfs and refugees.

The second step is to mobilize farmers to reclaim wasteland, in addition to food, and at the same time develop mulberry and hemp water conservancy workshops, so that farmers who have lost their land will not go into despair."
To be continued...