Chapter 43: Disappointment and anger

After figuring it out, Yun Ye ran to the Ministry of Agriculture early in the morning with dark circles under his eyes, and then transferred the files of the Ministry of War and finally figured it out after three cross-checks. The reward for the inventor of new technology in the damn Tang Dynasty was the highest, which was 1500000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

In the fourth year of Wude, a craftsman made a thirsty bird, and was awarded 10,000 gold coins. In the sixth year of Wude, a messenger presented a browning herb, and was awarded 10,000 gold coins. In the sixth year of Wude, the Wan Nian Ling presented a cart, and was awarded two sheep and 10,000 gold coins. After that, the Sisheng Temple wrote a new one. In the third year of Zhen Guan, Yun Hou presented a plow, and was awarded 15,000 gold coins.

No wonder the old guy Huangfu Muyi had to pretend to be crazy and run to the Yun family to cheat. Nowadays, even if you build an airplane, the reward is only 150000. The old guy wasn’t lying. He was indeed bribed by Yun’s family with food and wine, and was given 50000 more than the standard amount. Seeing this, the anger in his heart subsided.

Standing in front of the gate of the Ministry of Works, I saw only ragged craftsmen coming and going from the various workshops, and a sense of bitterness welled up in my heart. In later generations, I would be one of them, and today, they are not called workers, but “servants,” “house servants,” or “government servants.” Every year, they are required to work for free for more than 20 days. No wonder when I was distributing wages and bonuses at the Ke Wu Academy, the behavior of the subordinate officials was so strange. I asked repeatedly if the craftsmen were paid. I was busy organizing the data at the time and said without turning my head, “Aren’t they all on the books? Pay them according to the form!” It seemed to me that it was natural to hire people to work and pay them, so why should I think about it? Now that I think about it, the craftsmen bowed to me when they saw me, not because I was bragging, but because they were grateful to me for paying them.

“What a waste, what a waste.” He was muttering to himself when the old man Huangfu came up from behind and heard what Yun Ye had said.

“General Yun is known for his wealth. What is the difference between 150000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

“Not to mention fifteen strings, even fifteen thousand strings wouldn’t bother me. I just looked through the reward files from previous years. Why is the highest reward only fifteen strings? Old sir, don’t tell me that the government is broke. Thirsty birds drink water, overturned carts irrigate, and plows grow grain. All of these are first-class goods. Is it a bit mean to reward them with only fifteen strings?”

“The young General Yun is of a brave and enterprising disposition. I am already in my twilight years and cannot turn the tide. Old habits cannot be changed in a moment. I have also written a petition, but it has not even passed the three provinces, let alone the emperor. General Yun, tell me the truth. If it was not me last night, but one of the other subordinates of the Ministry of Agriculture, what would have happened?

You are wrong about the old man. Just say it. The old man Huangfu, who is famous for his honesty in history, would not be so unprincipled.

“You are the only one who can be the head of the Ministry of Agriculture. If it were anyone else, they would have had their legs broken last night.”

“Haha, this is the difficulty of the old man. There is no way to avoid hatred when you reach out to others for their secrets. Fortunately, this old face still has some face, otherwise the consequences will be dire!”

After bidding farewell to the old man Huangfu, I had just entered the palace and was planning to go and molest Li Anlan again. I hadn’t even reached the Tingtao Pavilion when I was taken to the back garden by two dead eunuchs. This is where I can come? Just as I was about to escape, Empress Consort Changsun came out of the pavilion with an old guy. If he still didn’t know who the old guy was, he was completely out of his mind.

The old guys Yun Ye met in the Tang Dynasty were all good people. Song Lian was upright, Li Gang was old-fashioned, and Huangfu was witty. They could be called a generation of teachers. The elderly should have the appearance of the elderly, be wise and open-minded, and laugh at the clouds and clouds. It is not moral to lean on the red and green, and to have a woman with a big chest and round waist carry the bed when you walk a few steps. What’s even more strange is that Li Anlan is also sitting on the couch, laughing like a flower, and occasionally giving the old guy a very attentive massage.

Yun Ye’s heart was ringing with alarm. How did Li Yuan come out? Didn’t I hear that he was planning to die of exhaustion in the flower garden? Why did he come to trouble me when he was so happy to die? You gave Li Er nine younger brothers and sisters in two years, and you contributed to the increase in the population of the Tang Dynasty. It was your son who forced you to do it, not me.

Li Yanzhao still had to meet with him. The nominal leader of the Tang Dynasty was completely old, with sagging skin and graying hair. If it weren’t for his eyes, which were as green as a wolf’s eyes, Yun Ye wouldn’t have associated him with the name Li Yuan.

“Is this kid bullying you?” Li Yuan was already talking before he even raised his head.

“Grandpa, that’s him. He not only bullied me, but also framed me.” Li Anlan no longer had any strength, and she cooed to Li Yuan like a spoiled child.

“Kid, you dare bully my granddaughter? You have guts! Bring him out and chop him up and feed him to the dogs!”

Hearing this simple sentence, Yun Ye’s hair stood on end. Is this what the old man meant by feeding him to the dogs? He blinked and asked for help from his eldest grandson, but the latter ignored him and still had that half-smiling, half-serious look on his face.

Damn it, two strong women with fierce expressions on their faces were tied up in three seconds with a red silk ribbon. At this time, Yun Ye calmed down. Because of a little dispute between children, you, the Supreme Emperor, have the right to cut off the head of a state minister at will?

Yun Ye was very angry, not at Li Yuan, but at Li Anlan. These days, he had never stopped delivering food to the palace, and he had always made it himself. Even if you were a stone, you should understand that I didn’t flirt with you casually, I really liked you. Even if you didn’t mean to cut off my head, this is too much. Who can’t take a joke from the royal family? Or do you like to see me kneeling on the ground begging for mercy?

He was tied up tightly, but he was not fed to the dogs. Yun Ye’s face turned pale and he lowered his head in silence.

Li Anlan was a little embarrassed. He didn’t see Yun Ye’s embarrassed appearance, so he went to beat him up. He begged for mercy, bowed, and made a wish. He looked very spineless. How could he not be afraid of the majesty of the Taishang Huang?

Changsun whispered, “This is bad. Yun Ye is known for being a meek person, but the emperor’s use of his power to pressure him has aroused his pride as a high-level person from another world. Now he is probably resentful of Anlan. Once a proud person has a rift in his heart, it cannot be turned around with a few words. The eunuch was a little confused. He did not understand the importance of Yun Ye to the Tang Dynasty.

“Yuan Hou, you are being rude to An Lan. Why don’t you apologize quickly?” Before Chang Sun could speak, a woman with a beautiful makeup spoke up. She also saw that the situation was like a tiger on a horse, and one side would have to back down first.

Yun Ye said coldly, “The song of the oriole, on the island in the river, the graceful lady, the gentleman is fond of her, the sages have a famous saying, I have not married, the princess has not married, it is only natural to have the desire to find a husband, the emperor used this to blame his subordinates, which is unfair.”

“How dare you!” Li Yuan stood up and pointed at Yun Ye and said to the eldest grandson, “A good minister of Erlang! You have no respect for the emperor. Did the emperor teach you this?”

Changsun’s face turned pale. Li Anlan didn’t expect Yun Ye to be so fierce, and he wouldn’t budge in the face of the emperor. He anxiously gave Yun Ye a wink, hoping that he would soften. Yun Ye was furious at this time, and he didn’t care about looking at her.

“Father, calm down. Lord Lantian has traveled the world with a high-level master since he was a child, and he has been spoiled. He lacks discipline, and recently, it has been my wife and I who have taken over his education. It was my wife’s fault for speaking disrespectfully. Please forgive him for being young and ignorant.” Changsun bowed to the ground without paying attention to the dust on the ground.

Li Yuan’s anger subsided a little, and he ordered someone to help the eldest grandson get up and said to her, “You and your husband like this kid very much? You don’t usually disobey me, and as long as I give an order, you will follow it without saying a word. Today, you bowed down to the dust for him, which is the first time in more than ten years. It seems that this kid is not simple!”

“Your Majesty and I don’t know why we feel so close to this kid when we see him. Maybe it’s fate!” After answering Li Yuan’s question, he turned and glared at Yun Ye: “You bastard, come here and apologize to the emperor. Do you really want to die?”

One should never waste the efforts of others, and one should always be grateful for the kindness of others. This has always been Yun Ye’s creed. Since Changsun has gone to such lengths for him, what else can he say? He was unable to kneel down, so he said with his back bent: “Your servant was momentarily at a loss, please forgive me, Your Majesty.”

The words came out, but the tone was cold and harsh.

“You’re not convinced?” Li Yuan said nonchalantly as he took a sip of wine.

For some reason, Yun Ye was angry when he saw Li Anlan. The anger that had just subsided flared up again. He said loudly, “Of course I am not convinced. Does it mean that only the emperor is allowed to set fire, but not the people of Lantian?”

Li Yuan almost spat out his wine, and after hard suppressing it, he asked curiously, “What is the allusion to the state official setting fire and the people lighting lanterns?”

“The kid heard that when Tian Deng became the county magistrate, he changed his name to avoid being offended, and anyone who offended him would be beaten. So the whole county called the lanterns “fire.” On the Lantern Festival, people were allowed to enter the county government to watch the lanterns, and the officials posted a notice in the city saying, “According to the rules of this county, there will be a three-day fire festival.” The kid told his teacher, and his teacher laughed and said, “Only the county officials are allowed to set fires, not the people!”

As soon as he finished speaking, the beautiful women next to him all laughed and covered their mouths, Li Yuan also smiled, and Changsun put down his heart. Li Anlan looked blank, not knowing what he was thinking.

“You tell me how I set the fire. If you can’t tell me, I’ll punish you for both crimes and I won’t let you off lightly.”

“Your Majesty has forgotten the old story of the selection of the best candidate during the Sui Dynasty. This allusion has become known to the world, and I am just repeating what Your Majesty said.” Yun Ye looked at Li Yuan with contempt. With a beauty, he forgot the old bastard who was his old friend.

Changsun took a deep breath, this kid is really something.

Li Yuan was lost in his memories and waved for the palace servants to carry him back to the palace. He had no more interest in Yun Ye. The passing of Dou was a permanent pain in his heart, especially after the Xuanwu Gate Incident, a dramatic change that stirred his heart. The children born of Dou killed each other and the blood flowed like a river. Dou, you are so lucky! You left me to bear it alone.

Li Anlan looked at Yun Ye, but Yun Ye was looking at the sky. The pain filled Li Anlan’s chest, and he no longer looked at himself…

Yun Ye, who was trying to act aloof and self-satisfied, suddenly felt a sharp pain in his ear, and the angry face of Empress Dowager Changsun appeared before his eyes.