Love Affairs in Chang'an - Chapter 249

Chapter 249 Big Shot Arrives
A few days later, several official ships with carved beams and painted buildings arrived at the port of Xiangzhou. From this moment onwards, Xiangzhou became extremely lively, thus becoming the focus of attention in the Great Tang Empire.

The person on the official ship was no ordinary person. The current prime minister of the dynasty was truly a big shot-Xiao Yu!

At first, Qin Mubai received news that the Emperor had sent Xiao Yu to Xiang Zhou, so he roughly guessed why he had come.

This Xiao Yu had a lot to do with Yang Guang, who was lying in the mausoleum. Yang Guang’s empress, also known as Empress Xiao, was Xiao Yu’s elder sister. Before the Sui Dynasty, Xiao Yu was already a young doctor, Yin Qingguang Lu, and became the youngest member of the Yang Guang Think Tank.

Xiao Yu’s grandfather was Emperor Xuan of the Later Liang Dynasty, Xiao Que. His great-grandfather was Crown Prince Zhaoming, Xiao Tong. The Xiao Clan had always been a prestigious clan of the Jiangzuo clan. Back in the early Tang Dynasty, Xiao Mian, who ruled Jiangdong, was still Xiao Yu’s nephew.

As for Xiao Yu, he had always been controversial.

Ever since he was young, he was famous for his filial piety and his kindness in learning and writing, his integrity, and his profoundness in Buddhist doctrine. He was not greedy for money, nor was he lustful, and he dared to go against the dragon scale. Regardless of whether he served Yang Guang in the former Sui Dynasty or was valued as a confidant by Tang Gaozu Li Yuan, he did not change a single bit when he looked up to or followed Li Shimin as Prime Minister.

Moreover, perhaps because he came from a well-known family, he also had some common problems with the old official clan-he was arrogant and looked down on people of lower status than him. Martial virtue was fine in the dynasty. High Ancestor Li Yuan relied on him as his confidant and entrusted him with important tasks. After Li Shimin ascended to the throne, he had his own team, such as Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, Wei Zheng, and others. Xiao Yu was jealous of their favor and important position, and also looked down on their birth. Moreover, he was a “perfectionist” who could not tolerate sand in his eyes, but if there was anyone who he could not bear to see, he would definitely reprimand him mercilessly on the spot, regardless of when and where he was.

For this reason, Li Shimin once praised him, “This person can’t be tempted, nor can he be tortured and feared. True officials of the state are also allowed to do so.” And the poem “Gale Knows the Strength of the Grass, Bandits the Sense of Honest Officials”. But it was also because of his arrogant temperament and stubborn bad temper that Xiao Yu was demoted several times in his life, but he was activated several times, like an “invincible”.

Right now, although Xiao Yu officially worshipped the Prime Minister of the Crown Prince Taibao and the Third Stage of the Tongzhongshu Sect, it was difficult for him to truly join the Prime Minister’s team of the Imperial Court with Changsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling, and the others as the core to participate in major decisions. However, no matter what, the influence of the Jiang Zuo Xiao Clan was still there, and Xiao Yu’s status did not drop much. From this, it seemed that Li Shimin had sent him to Xiangzhou for Yang Guang’s tomb, so he seemed to pay more attention to it.

Qin Mubai led the officials of Xiang Prefecture to the dock to welcome them. Several large warships were loaded with cargo, and they were completely covered with curtains, for some unknown reason. Along with them, there were more than a thousand Golden Crow Guard guards, their momentum was not small.

The middle ship docked at the harbor, and the boards of the ship also came up. The guards on both sides arranged themselves in formation. Xiao Yu raised his hand and adjusted his clothes on the deck of the bow of the ship before striding off the ship with his head held high.

“Commandant Qin Mubai is being attacked by the Xiang Province’s military manor. He is leading the officers and generals of the entire continent to welcome Xiao Ge Lao.” Qin Mubai stood at the head of the group of officials and cupped his hands.

All the officials agreed, “Welcome, Elder Xiao!”

Xiao Yu raised his chin and looked around the crowd. He expressionlessly nodded to Qin Mubai and said, “Why did General Qin have to work so hard to move the crowd? This pavilion is here to do business, not to play. If there is no need for common etiquette, then there is no need for it!”

“Su Wen Pavilion’s old man is honest and upright. As expected.” Qin Mubai didn’t care. It was normal for an “old revolution” like Xiao Yu to be a bit arrogant and aloof. Moreover, he had always had this temperament, and he spoke to the Emperor in a half-cold manner. Don’t expect him to be polite and respectful to anyone.

Xiao Yu did not waste words or be polite. He pointed his finger forward and said, “Please lead the way under General Qin’s command. Let’s go to the Secretariat Manor and talk!”

“That’s good too.” Qin Mubai nodded and answered. He sent Xue Rengui to lead the Palace’s QinBing to open the path. Pang Fei led the elite cavalry of the Palace to guard the Central Army. A group of more than a thousand people headed towards the Prefecture.

Xiao Yu did not sit in the sedan chair either. He rode on a horse and remained silent all the way.

Pang Fei leaned over to Qin Mubai and cursed, “This old man is so arrogant! He’s just an ex-prime minister, and he hasn’t lost his pride after being demoted a few times. I wonder what he’s here for.”

Qin Mubai smiled and said, “People have their own personalities. He was born with such a personality. What can he do?” It’s not like this with us. When he faced the three dukes in the court, it was the same as usual. His arrogance was deep in his bones. “The Jiang Zuo Xiao Clan is a hundred-year-old influential clan. Perhaps, from the bottom of his heart, he even looks down on the Li Clan royal family who stood up in the Eight Pillars Kingdom of Guan Long!”

“Haha, this old fellow is also interesting.” Pang Fei smiled and said, “In this lifetime, he will only bite the word’family ‘and not let go of it.”

“Not really.” Qin Mubai raised his eyebrows and smiled. “But speaking of which, he is actually a good person. He is strong, upright, filial, honest, and highly educated. Although his mouth and temper are a bit bad, he is still stronger than those villains with honey in their mouths and evil intentions.”

“That’s true!”

The brigade passed through Xiangyang County and stopped in the secretariat’s mansion. Xiao Yu was not polite and sat down to drink tea. After resting for a while, he seemed to recall that Qin Mubai and a large group of officials were waiting for him to speak.

“Oh, this pavilion can’t stand the tiredness of traveling, and I’m a little dizzy and unwell. If you can avoid such vulgar rituals as welcoming people to the pavilion, then you can avoid them. Let’s go back and rest on our own!” Xiao Yu waved his hand and said.

“Yes” Everyone naturally couldn’t say any more and could only disperse.

Qin Mubai naturally stayed behind. Xiao Yu’s action was simply to exclude everyone from talking to him alone.

After the crowd dispersed, Xiao Yu slowly tasted a cup of tea and looked at Qin Mubai. He slowly snorted, “General Qin, you’ve done a great service this time!”

“Elder Xiao Ge, what do you mean by that?” Qin Mubai asked.

Xiao Yu gently placed the tea cup on the table and stroked his long gray beard a few times. He raised his chin with a faint smile and said proudly, “Return the Seal to the Emperor. Naturally, this kind of contribution is not small.”

Qin Mubai smiled slightly and casually said, “So the jade seal is real?”

“Those that have been personally appraised by this pavilion will definitely not be fake.” Xiao Yu chuckled and said, “Previously, the jade seal in His Majesty’s hand was extremely similar. When it returned from Mobei, I suspected it was fake. I also told His Majesty the Emperor, but he didn’t believe me. He even treated the fake jade seal as if he had obtained a precious treasure and put it on the royal table openly for several years. Fortunately, the True Jade Seal has finally appeared, and His Majesty the Emperor has finally trusted this old official’s eyesight. ”

Qin Mubai suppressed his laughter and said seriously, “Elder Xiao has served the Three Emperors for two dynasties. His eyesight and knowledge are definitely comparable.”

“Naturally.” Xiao Yu smiled complacently and said, “In the early years, Yang Guang kept the jade seal for me many times. No one is more familiar with that thing than me.” A few days ago, His Majesty had asked Eldest Sun Wuji, Fang Xuanling, Yu Shinan, and many others to appraise it, but none of them could argue whether it was true or false. It was only in the end that he thought of letting me take a look. The fake jade seal was made by an unknown person, and it really looked exactly like it. If I hadn’t been so familiar with the jade seal, I’m afraid I wouldn’t have been able to tell if it was real or not. ”

“In that case, Elder Xiao Ge is truly a blessed general of His Majesty the Emperor!” Qin Mubai smiled.

“In terms of blessing generals, King Wu and General Qin are the blessing generals.” Xiao Yu looked sideways at Qin Mubai with a hint of jealousy in his eyes as he sarcastically said, “You actually managed to find the real Mausoleum of Emperor Yang and the Imperial Jade Seal that has been missing for dozens of years!”

“That’s right, luck is such a bad thing.” Qin Mubai was about to be amused by this “sour old man” and could barely restrain himself. He said, “Elder Xiao, this lowly position wants to ask you a question. Why are you here under orders?”

“Oh?” Xiao Yu was stunned for a moment. “Could it be that His Majesty didn’t send someone to give a decree explaining the reason for my visit?”

Qin Mubai shook her head blankly.

“Cough!” Xiao Yu coughed awkwardly. “Then why did you come to the dock to welcome him?”

“This lowly position only knows that Elder Xiao Pavilion will come next time, so I went to welcome him. However, I don’t know what exactly happened.” Qin Mubai simply told the truth.

Xiao Yu’s face instantly turned a little red. He coughed dryly and said, “Then you … go and call those officials back just now. This pavilion publicly announces the purpose of this trip.”

“Elder Xiao Ge, everyone is scattered … Calling back again, isn’t that good?” Qin Mubai whispered, “Why don’t you just tell me that I’ll go and pass it on to my subordinates, so it’ll save you a lot of effort and effort?”

“No way! This pavilion has come here on orders to do business, and can you hide your identity?” Xiao Yu said seriously, “Hurry up and call those people over!”

“Alright” Qin Mubai smiled bitterly and thought to himself, “This sour old man has grown up on his own. He thought that the Emperor had announced a decree to greet him first, but he didn’t expect that he was being too lenient. The people of Manxiang Prefecture only knew that he was here, but they didn’t know why he was here!

Qin Mubai had no choice but to immediately send someone to call back the scattered officials, Jiang Zuo. Everyone didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, but it wasn’t good enough to humiliate Xiao Yu. They could only hurry back and stand in two rows in the main hall of the Secretariat Manor. They cupped their hands together and listened.

Only then did Xiao Yu feel that he had regained some face and announced his intention seriously.

As Qin Mubai had expected, Xiao Yu had been ordered by the Emperor to bring along a number of skilled craftsmen and civil materials to Xiang Prefecture in advance to prepare for the Great Ceremony of Emperor Yang’s Mausoleum in the future. Xiao Yu also read out an order from Li Shimin in public, saying that His Majesty had an order, ordering all the officials of Xiang Province to obey Xiao Yu’s orders and assist him in organizing the sacrificial ceremony.

The sacrificial ceremony was to be held three months later at the time of the Nine-Nine Double-Yang Festival. Time was still a bit tight.

“This is roughly the case. This pavilion will inform General Qin of the specific arrangements and then let him distribute them. At that time, I will have to trouble all of you. You must be careful and do your job well.” Xiao Yu said sternly.

“I will obey your orders!” Everyone could only agree loudly.

“Alright, let’s disperse first!”

Xiao Yu waved his hand again and everyone dispersed.

After everyone left, Qin Mubai carefully asked, “Elder Xiao, are you done with your orders? Is there anything else you need to tell me about?”

Xiao Yu thought carefully with his eyes. He really thought for a long time and shook his head, “It seems that there is nothing left. Before leaving, His Majesty said that if there is anything you don’t understand, ask Qin Mubai. If there is anything you don’t know, hand it over to Qin Mubai. It can be seen that His Majesty values and trusts you very much. In the future, if I have anything, I will hand it over to you.”

“Alright, alright.” Qin Mubai nodded and laughed in his heart. Who didn’t know that you were only here for a formality? It was just a “representative”. Who really expected you to do something?

“Right, there’s one more thing.” Xiao Yu said, “You must build two Xingyuan Prefectures before the sacrifice ceremony.”

“Xingyuan Prefecture? Two more?” Qin Mubai couldn’t help but frown, “Could it be that His Majesty the Emperor wants to kiss me?”

“Sacrificing the last emperor of the previous dynasty, how could His Majesty come? You really don’t choose your words!” Xiao Yu immediately scolded.

“Good, good. I was wrong. Elder Xiao Ge, don’t be angry.” Qin Mubai smiled and said, “If that’s the case, then you’re going to build a Crown Prince Li Palace’s Xingyuan, right?”

“You’re smart.” Xiao Yu snorted coldly and said, “His Majesty values the sacrifices in the Mausoleum of Emperor Yang, so he sent three members of the royal family to preside over them.” One was the Crown Prince. The second, of course, is the governor of Xiangzhou King Wu Li Ke; Thirdly, it was the Jiang Xia King, Li Dao Sect. King Wu has a prince’s mansion to live in here. This old man has always paid no attention to staying in the inn. However, do you want the Crown Prince and the King of Jiangxia to squeeze under the same roof as this old man? Therefore, quickly start building the Li Palace Xingyuan! ”

“Alright, I understand.” Qin Mubai scratched his head and smiled helplessly. “I just don’t know when Prince Wu will be back. After all, this matter is his responsibility.”

“Then this pavilion doesn’t know. If you want to know, Pegasus Quick Book will go to Chang’an to ask His Majesty and King Wu.” After Xiao Yu finished speaking, he got up and cut his sleeves behind his back. “This pavilion is tired. Let’s go to the post to rest. Don’t trouble General Qin to send them off. Hurry up and deal with these matters!” He said.

Qin Mubai looked at Xiao Yu’s back and shook his head, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. He thought to himself, “What a proud old stone. No wonder the three emperors, Yang Guang, Li Yuan and Li Shimin, liked him, hated him, and demoted him.”

Speaking of which, the emperor was so aggressive in offering sacrifices to Yang Guang in Xiangzhou, first of all, of course, in order to show his son of heaven’s bosom, win over the hearts of the people; Secondly, the main purpose was to inform the world that the True Jade Seal had returned. He, Li Shimin, was the True Dragon Son of Heaven who had truly received orders from the heavens.

This time, Li Ke and I have really contributed!