Chapter 541 Appointment of General

Xue Bai's journey south was indeed very slow, but other than being slow, others really couldn't fault him for anything else.

Now that Li Lin has turned against him, it makes him even more loyal and magnanimous. Although this is just a false name, it is very important to him. As for letting Hun Yao serve as the pacifier of Shandong Road, he has gained substantial power.

In terms of personal relationship, Xue Xin was closer to Xue Bai and had the great success of capturing Shi Siming. If Xue Bai recommended him, no one would object. However, Hun Yan had senior qualifications and a higher official position, so he was more suitable for this position.

In addition, although Hun Yao is not yet Xue Bai's confidant, once he is promoted, others will think that he has completely surrendered to Xue Bai, and then he can only really surrender to Xue Bai.

After completing this matter and sending Li Zhi back to Beijing, Xue Bai decided to return to Fanyang in accordance with the order.

Hun Yao, who was newly appointed as an official, was very surprised and asked: "Is King Yong really going back to Fan Yang?"

"What if?"

"Shouldn't King Yong's rebellion be put down by King Yong's troops?"

Before, Hun Yao always said that Xue Bai intended to rebel and alienate him, but now he said such words. Xue Bai was a little funny and asked: "Why should I pacify it?"

"The world has finally become peaceful, so why should there be turmoil again and make the people uneasy? King Yong has great military exploits and is the person who can put down rebellions the fastest."

"If that's the case, my contribution will be too great. How can there be a good end if my achievements exceed those of my master?"

Xue Bai waved his hands with emotion and continued to make preparations to return to Fan Yang.

Hun Yao was inevitably a little disappointed, and began to think about why the most important overall situation of the world had to give in to suspicion and the struggle for power.

The next day, he sent Xue Bai off to the north. Just before leaving, he realized that he had deeply admired King Yong during the time when he was going to the north to challenge Shi Siming, and regarded him as his elder brother.

He hoped that King Yong would lead the army to put down Li Lin's rebellion. No matter how many reasons he gave, he actually wanted to go on another expedition with King Yong.

…

Xue Bai went south very slowly, and returned north even more slowly. After leaving Huazhou, he headed northeast, preparing to go to Weizhou.

While patrolling the place, he paid attention to the progress of the imperial court's campaign against Li Lin.

However, the speed at which the imperial court decided on the candidate for the head coach was even slower than Xue Bai's decision. Xue Bai waited for several days but did not receive the imperial court's decision.

If he were asked to guess, Li Cong would definitely not use Li Guangbi, let alone Gao Shi. If he could use Guo Ziyi, the rebellion would probably be put down quickly, but he estimated that Li Cong still had concerns, fearing that Guo Ziyi would overshadow his master.

They were also afraid that Guo Ziyi would turn to support Li Lin, and since Tubo was now eyeing him, the border defense generals should not be easily mobilized.

Xue Bai guessed again and again, but the result surprised him.

Li Cong's appointment was completely unconstrained, leaving no clues for him to guess beforehand. He appointed Cui Yuan as the deputy marshal in the campaign against thieves, and also as the governor of Shannan East Road and Jiangnan West Road, to lead the troops to attack Li Lin.

Cui Yuan was originally from Yang Guozhong. At the beginning of Anlushan's rebellion, he made preparations to welcome Li Longji in Shu County. Li Longji was very satisfied and he immediately became prime minister.

Later, Xue Bai ordered Yan Wu to go to Shu County to retrieve Li Longji, and Cui Yuan was dismissed from his position. Since he was not guilty of many crimes, he still retained his post as a third-rank official. He should have faded away from officialdom, but he didn't.

Thinking of suddenly being entrusted with an important task.

News from Chang'an soon came, and the causes and consequences of this incident were discovered.

"Cui Yuan was born in an aristocratic family. He was quite talented in literature and was good at handling money. He once gave Dou Wenyang heavy gifts and had a good relationship with him. Dou Wenyang admired him very much and planned to promote him to prime minister. The internal and external courts supported each other to suppress Chen Xilie and Wei Jiansu.

.”

Xue Bai was speechless for a long time, and then said: "Cui Yuan is as his name suggests, he is quite smooth."

The reason why he allowed Li Lin to rebel was because he knew that this kind of internal fighting in the royal family would not cause too much damage to the people, and because Li Lin had great ambition and little talent, he would not be able to stay in power for long.

But now after listening to Li Cong and Dou Wenyang's principles for employing people, he had a premonition that Li Lin's rebellion would be different this time and might not be easily quelled.

Thinking of this, Xue Bai stopped his horse and turned his head to look southwest.

Xue Xin asked curiously: "Brother, what are you looking at?"

"Let's make a bet." Xue Bai said, "I think it won't be long before someone comes looking for me."

He didn't think Cui Yuan could defeat Li Lin, and someone would come to persuade him to take action.

Xue Xin was not stupid, he shook his head and said: "Brother, whatever you say is whatever it is, I won't bet on it."

Just as he finished speaking, someone in the distance suddenly heard someone shouting "King Yong". Everyone looked back and saw a horse riding alone in the wind and snow, chasing after him from the south.

Xue Bai thought it was an envoy sent by the imperial court or a local official. After looking at it for a while, he unexpectedly found that it was Li Bai who came, so he went over to greet him.

Since the last time he transported grain to Bianzhou with Li Xuan, Li Bai also got an official position in the Henan Transportation Department because of his merit. He didn't really want it at the time and said he wanted to go back and continue to live in seclusion. However, Xue Bai saw that his ambition to make contributions was still there, so he hoped

He can experience more local affairs and be appointed as an official again and again.

"Why is Brother Taibai here?"

"Hahaha, I have caught up with Saburo." Li Bailang smiled, showing his heroic look, and said: "I heard that you arrived in Huazhou, and you were only a hundred miles away from me. I came to you for a drink, but when you arrived in Huazhou, you

I heard that you have gone north, and I am already here anyway, so I won’t miss you by more than a hundred miles."

Xue Bai asked: "Just drinking?"

Li Bai may have other things to do, but seeing that Xue Bai was really happy, he put all the mundane things behind him and said with a smile: "Not only drinking, but also composing poems."

"good."

If invited by others, Xue Bai would rather handle more official duties than spend time on drinking and bragging. But in life, there must always be a few friends with whom he can spend his time, and Li Bai is undoubtedly one of them.

That night, they traveled to Guancheng County, abandoned their guards, and went out incognito to find a small wine shop.

The owner of the wine shop was an old man with sparse gray hair and a slightly hunched back. Perhaps because he lived alone, he was woken up in the middle of the night but was still very enthusiastic. He lit up the fire, warmed two pots of wine, cut some dried meat, and served it.

Some side dishes.

"At first glance, you two look like elegant guests. It's a great pleasure to have friends from far away."

Li Bai was surprised to see that this ordinary old man could also write a few sentences, and he took him to drink a few drinks together.

It can be seen that he is indeed very magnanimous. It is not that he has anything to say to Xue Bai. Or it could be said that he is meeting friends, so he doesn't need to talk about unimportant things.

After a few drinks, the old man felt sleepy. He paid for the drinks and went to bed. He asked them to just leave the store with them when they left.

Xue Bai then asked: "Brother Taibai, you traveled hundreds of miles to see me. Do you really have nothing else to do?"

"Originally, it existed." Li Bai said, "Now it no longer exists."

"It's okay to just chat and listen."

"good."

Li Bai was also free and easy, put down his wine bowl, and said: "I heard that you were relinquishing your military power and going back to Chang'an, so I planned to come and persuade you. Now that you are safe, such intrigues are no good.

Let’s talk.”

Xue Bai originally thought that Li Bai did not want to be an official in such a complicated yamen as the Transportation Department, but then he realized that he had misunderstood Li Bai's loyalty.

They talked about everything, and he expressed his thoughts.

Li Bai laughed loudly and said: "I have indeed resigned again. The mundane duties of the Transportation Department are very tiring. It is better to go back than to go back."

It's hard to blame him for being unruly and unrestrained. No matter how hard it was for others, he wouldn't really resign. He wouldn't even talk about it frankly after letting down Xue Bai.

Xue Bai shook his head and sighed softly, saying: "Brother Taibai is determined to achieve great achievements, how can he do it so willfully?"

He had heard Li Bai say more than once that his life ambition was to apply Yan Guan's talk, seek the emperor's skills, and develop his wisdom. He was willing to assist Bi and make the Huan District settled and Hai County unified. In this regard, he also wanted to support Li Bai.

But every time I meet him, I always feel that Li Bai is too aloof, a little too ambitious, and cynical. This is not the way an official should behave.

"You and I are two different types of people. All my life, I have wanted to be able to 'talk and laugh about An Liyuan'. I have to show my love for him without losing my true nature."

Li Bai picked up the wine pot, poured a bowl for himself, and poured some for Xue Bai. Only then did he realize that Xue Bai's bowl of wine had only lost one sip.

Xue Bai raised his hand to block it, indicating that he didn't need more wine, and said: "Yes, Brother Taibai wants to 'The roc rises with the wind in one day', but I know that I am just an ant, climbing up step by step.

When an ant climbs to a high place, it is always afraid that a gust of wind will blow it down again, so it does not dare to slack off in the slightest, and will compromise and compromise to serve the powerful."

This is indeed Xue Bai's mentality all along.

Unlike Li Bai, who was cheerful and optimistic by nature, he always thought deeply about everything. But he often envied Li Bai, who was so uninhibited and unrestrained, treating high-ranking officials and generous salaries as dirt and living freely.

"How can you be an ant?" Li Bai shook his head, "You are the grandson of the emperor."

"My starting point is just a humble slave." Xue Bai casually took out the seal on his body and threw it on the table, saying: "I have worked hard all these years to get it."

When you throw away your seal, you also throw away your identity.

Li Bai stretched out his hand, patted Xue Bai's shoulder, and said: "In that case, I don't envy you anymore. When I go out, I treat the princes as equals, and when I escape, I want to overlook the nest. I am born with talents, how can I lose fame, wealth, and honor?"

Got your true intention?"

"Brother Taibai is a genius."

The two clinked the bowls.

Li Bai was so drunk that he went to the stove and picked up a dead branch and danced with his sword. He also asked Xue Bai to compose poems and songs for him to add to the atmosphere.

He was the only one who, after Xue Bai became King Yong, still treated Xue Bai as before and truly achieved equal treatment with the princes.

They made a lot of noise. The old man in the wine shop was still sleeping soundly and was not woken up. He had no idea what kind of poetry was going on in his small wine shop tonight.

At the end, Li Bai finished his sword dance, threw away the dead branch in his hand, and said: "I resigned from the official position, and plan to go to Yangzhou to pick up my family and continue living in seclusion. This drink should be regarded as a farewell to Sanlang."

He came all the way, drank wine and composed poems, and then left.

Xue Bai looked at his back and asked himself, if he were not burdened by power, what would he want to do at this moment?
To be continued...