"Lingxi, Shuang'er, you two go back first. I'll take Song'er to visit Yueyao's father."

After coming out of Li Shizhi's mansion, when passing by the South Gate of Shengyefang, Li Xuan said to Pei Lingxi and Shuang'er.

"it is good!"

Pei Lingxi responded softly.

Song'er has never seen Jiang Du since she could remember. The two families live not far from each other, but for some reason they cannot meet.

Unlike Yi'er's grandfather Pei Fan, who could come to Tianshui Palace to see Li Yi openly, and could go to the Duke of Song's Palace to be on good terms with Li Shizhi.

After the change, Li Xuan took another carriage and entered from the southwest gate of Shengyefang with Li Song, who was confused.

"Grandpa, what are these big rocks and these tall trees for?"

Li Song stood on tiptoe in front of the carriage window, looking at the vehicles transporting stone and wood outside the window, and asked Li Xuan.

He was not as timid as Li Zhenzhen. Within a day, he no longer recognized the grandfather that his two mothers mentioned every day.

Not far from Li Xuan's carriage, under the protection of the Jinwu Guards, carts transporting construction materials were pulled by mules, horses and farmers.

Because the building materials are so large, it often requires several horses to work in parallel, which is very difficult.

Li Xuan also saw this scene through the window.

He could tell at a glance that these were top-quality woods that were decades or even hundreds of years old.

He didn't know where the wood came from, but the first thing he thought of was the Loess Plateau.

There is no doubt that the Loess Plateau was once densely forested with towering trees.

Looking at the history of the Yellow River, when it was covered with forests, the river channel in the lower reaches of the Yellow River was very stable and the probability of disasters occurring was much lower than after the Tang Dynasty.

Since Chang'an was designated as the capital of the dynasty, the deforestation of the Loess Plateau began.

During the Qin and Han dynasties, rulers built palaces on a large scale, causing the forests to gradually decrease.

During the Wei and Jin dynasties, the rate of felling slowed down.

By the Tang Dynasty, the Loess Plateau had suffered the largest deforestation in its history.

The forests that have been born for countless years have become dead stumps in this era.

The construction of various palaces in the Tang Dynasty was the largest in history.

Huaqing Palace, Xingqing Palace and Qujiang Palace Complex are all unnecessary palaces that rise from the ground with carved beams and painted rafters.

The powerful and wealthy were extremely extravagant, and they had all kinds of manors outside Chang'an.

There are also the current Wu Yangs, who show off their mansions.

Lush and green, turned into architecture.

The Loess Plateau that Li Xuan saw had only scattered trees, and most of the land had been eroded into thousands of gullies and ravines, and soil erosion would occur sooner or later.

Due to the limitations of the times, no one realized the impact of the Loess Plateau on the Central Plains of China.

Hearing Li Song's ignorant question, Li Xuan suddenly remembered that Li Longji was going to build another mansion for him in Shengyefang.

Just like An Lushan’s mansion, it only requires magnificence and beauty, without any limit on financial resources.

Perhaps these timbers were being transported to his mansion.

"Song'er, these wood and stones are the materials for building a house."

Only then did Li Xuan respond to Li Song's words.

“That must be a very big house.”

Li Song asked Li Xuan innocently again.

“It is big, but the foundation is very unstable.”

Li Xuan said something that Li Song couldn't understand.

Li Song really didn't understand and just kept looking outside.

After a while, we passed by a construction site that covered an area of ​​200 acres and saw countless people shouting and working busy.

The tall pillar was lifted up by a group of strong men.

The heavy iron chains were pushed out one after another.

There is a constant supply of high-quality soil shipped from outside the city.

Hundreds of people were building the same high wall in full swing.

Without safety protection, life may be in danger at any time.

Hundreds of people were digging in the ground and sweating profusely.

The sounds of sawing and knocking came one after another.

Some people with their hands on their hips, whose identities were unknown, kept urging the construction workers.

It seems to be in order and bustling.

There were a lot of messy wood and stones around, and piles of discarded copper nails.

Apparently, there was originally a mansion here, but it was demolished for some unknown reason.

Look at the stone and wood, these are all of top quality.

"Is this my mansion?"

Li Xuan thought this was his residence, so he asked the coachman.

"My Lord, this is Yang Jian's residence. Your residence is in the northwest corner of Shengyefang. The original residence is currently being demolished."

The groom replied to Li Xuan.

"Is my house as big as Yang Jian's?"

Li Xuan asked the coachman again.

"I can't make a comparison either. It is said that Yang Jian is going to build a house covering more than 200 acres, occupying a lot of land."

It is well known that the mansions of the Five Yangs and Yang Guozhong were the largest in Chang'an.

But people know that the powerful Lady Guoguo is generally superior. No one knows the exact area and scale of Li Xuan's new house.

After all, An Lushan’s mansion was not as magnificent as Lady Guoguo’s residence.

In addition, Lady Guoguo also built the famous Guoguo Manor next to Huaqing Palace, leaning against the mountain. Its luxury was second only to Huaqing Palace.

This also made Lady Guoguo the leader of the Five Yangs. Even Yang Guozhong would listen to her and would agree without hesitation to promote officials she wanted to promote.

"The Yang family is so rich!"

Li Xuan said this inexplicably.

There are more than 200 acres of land, and construction can start as soon as it is announced.

You should know that the huge Xingqing Palace only covers an area of ​​more than 2,000 acres.

The mansions of the Five Yangs and Yang Guozhong were not just a few, they even had a "temporary palace" in Luoyang.

Such repeated demolition of buildings consumed not only the national strength of the Tang Dynasty, but also the fortune of the dynasty.

Li Xuan doesn't plan to go to the mansion in the northwest, Tianshui Palace is good enough.

The next time he meets Li Longji, he will ask Li Longji to give up building the mansion.

Even if the money for building the mansion is used to allocate funds for the Salesian Church and the Jisheng Church.

This would kill two birds with one stone and would also allow Li Xuan to win the respect of the people of Chang'an.

The people will definitely make comparisons in their minds.

Wu Yang and Yang Guozhong used ill-gotten gains to build mansions, but the mansion of King Tianshui was earned through his outstanding military exploits.

In comparison, Li Xuan's prestige will become higher and higher.

The carriage continued to move forward, and soon it arrived at a house next to Yang Jian's homestead.

This is Jiang Du Mansion. As Li Linfu was once extremely powerful, Jiang Du Mansion was about ten acres in size and was considered a mansion in Shengyefang.

Jiang Du was still the Shaoqing of Taichang, but he had long been pushed to the margins of power and was dispensable.

However, compared with the exile of many of Li Linfu's sons and sons-in-law, Jiang Du was extremely lucky.

However, Jiang Dufu encountered a troublesome problem at this time.

Yang Jian's housekeeper Yan Lu brought a group of servants to Jiang Du's mansion to discuss the "demolition" matter with Jiang Du.

They want to buy Jiang Du's mansion.

"Jiang Shaoqing, one thousand strings of cash, and move out of the mansion within seven days? Can you do it?"

Yan Lu sat in the main hall and spoke to Jiang Du in a haughty manner.

Beside him, several servants in blue stood proudly.

In addition, there were dozens of blue-clothed servants outside the hall with similar clothing and expressions.

"Alas! I can sell my house to Yang Qing, but one thousand strings of cash is too little. I have a large family and hold an important position in the court, so I need a place to stay. The current house prices in Shengye, Pingkang, Xingning and other places in Chang'an are too high, and one thousand strings of cash is far from enough for me to buy a new house!"

Jiang Du looked embarrassed. He spoke humbly, hoping that Yan Lu could give him more money.

The butler was just the leader of the servants, yet he sat at the same table with the court's ministers in red robes.

Not only that, but he was also very rude. This was an act of usurpation, which was not allowed in the etiquette system.

But Yang's servants dared to whip Princess Guangning and her husband. How could they justify this?
Jiang Du was so humble because one thousand strings of cash was too little.

His house has a superior geographical location, and it is very convenient to go to Xingqing Palace or Taiji Palace.

Following the pattern of nobles in the east and riches in the west, and common people moving to the south, there are no private houses in Shengyefang anymore, only high-ranking officials and nobles.

Such a nice house, built by a famous craftsman, would cost at least 10,000 strings of cash.

Yan Lu is robbing in broad daylight!
The Five Yangs were extremely powerful, and Jiang Du knew that he was going to suffer a loss, so he just wanted to ask for a little more so that he could buy a new house in a neighborhood a little further away from Xingqing Palace.

"Jiang Shaoqing's house is old and shabby, and one thousand strings of cash is already a lot. My master has changed his mind and wants to expand the house. It is Jiang Shaoqing's blessing to be able to occupy this place. In the future, I will also say a few good words for Jiang Shaoqing in the court. That's all. In one sentence, do you agree?"

Yan Yu relied on his status as Yang Jian's confidant and spoke in an extremely forceful manner. After he finished speaking, he glared at Jiang Du, as if he was going to demolish the house by force if they disagreed.

The reason why Yang Jian changed his mind and expanded his house was very simple. It was because when he visited his eighth sister, Mrs. Qin Guo, in Xingningfang, he saw that her house plot was actually bigger than his.

How can we tolerate the fact that it is being surpassed before it is even completed?
Therefore, Yang Jian wanted to continue expanding his future mansion, and he expanded it above Jiang Du’s house.

"It's too little. I'm sorry I can't agree to it!"

Jiang Du unexpectedly rejected Yan Lu's threat.

This was too much bullying, he simply couldn't accept it.

"bump!"

When Yan Yu heard this, he immediately slammed the table and stood up, turning hostile and angrily asked, "Don't you know who is building the house next door?"

"Of course I know that it was the Guangluqing who built the house, but you can't bully people like this. If you have 5,000 strings of cash, I will move away with my family and servants."

Seeing Yan Lu getting angry, Jiang Du felt uneasy and his words became much softer, but he still gave his desired price.

He was already at a great loss after selling the mansion for five thousand.

"Jiang Shaoqing, don't refuse a toast and then drink a forfeit. If you anger my master, you will be in big trouble!"

Yan Yu refused to buy it and threatened Jiang Du.

In recent years, they have experienced what lawlessness means.

They feel that there is nothing in this world that can scare them.

They can walk around Chang'an as they please.

Normally, those high-ranking officials would be eager to offer their houses to their masters, but Jiang Du actually dared to take advantage of them.

"My daughter is the concubine of the King of Tianshui. She is deeply loved by the King of Tianshui and has given birth to a son for him. The King of Tianshui has returned to Chang'an. If you dare to mess around, the King of Tianshui will not let you go."

Seeing Yan Lu being so rampant, Jiang Du also gave it his all.

He knew that his family and official title were not worth mentioning in front of Yang Jian, so he had to bring up Li Xuan, whom he was reluctant to mention.

Jiang Du's relationship with Li Xuan was contradictory. He had always been loyal to Li Linfu and firmly supported his cousin Li Linfu.

Li Linfu married Jiang Yueyao to Li Xuan as a concubine. Even though his wife objected, he agreed immediately.

Things in the world are unpredictable. Li Linfu, who was at the peak of his career, was gradually stripped of his foundation by Li Xuan, and his family was destroyed.

Now Jiang Du finally understood Li Linfu's intention of marrying Jiang Yueyao to Li Xuan.

It was this move that saved some of Li Linfu's incense and his maternal family, the Jiang family.

Li Linfu saw through Li Xuan's loyalty and righteousness!
Who said that Li Linfu was defeated by Li Xuan throughout his life?
At least this time, Li Linfu won!
"Hehe! What's the use of a concubine? Just a plaything? Can you call Li Xuan over? Even our master is not afraid of Li Xuan?"

Yan Yu snorted coldly and called Li Xuan by his name in a rude manner.

He has the support of his master, and believes that no matter what he does, the situation can be settled as soon as his master steps in.

Yang Jian has a scale in his heart.

Jiang Du had already lost his power. Although he had a relationship with Li Xuan, his daughter was just one of Li Xuan's concubines.

Concubines were lowly and could be given away or abandoned at will. It was common for high-ranking officials to exchange concubines. Who would contact the parents of a concubine?
In addition to the conflict between Li Xuan and Li Linfu, Yang Jian did not think that Li Xuan would stand up for Jiang Du.

What's more, Yang Jian thought Jiang Du was a gigolo, so he could use both soft and hard tactics. He could demolish Jiang Du's house and make it part of his own mansion at the lowest price.

"you……"

Jiang Du was so angry that he gnashed his teeth.

He really didn't dare to take the initiative to "redress" Li Xuan. No matter how big his resentment was, he had to swallow it down.

The misdeeds of the Five Yangs seemed to be condoned by the sage, and even if the news reached Xingqing Palace, the sage would not intervene.

"Seven days! It will be too late to regret."

After saying this harsh word, Yan Lu was about to leave with the blue-clothed servant.

At this time, a servant from Jiang Du's mansion hurried into the hall and reported to Jiang Du: "Alang, the King of Tianshui has arrived and wants to see Alang!"

Yan Lu had not left yet. He was shocked when he heard the servant's words.

He didn't expect that King Tianshui would come to Jiang Du's mansion, and for a "visit".

Although he had just spoken arrogantly, his master had instructed him not to provoke King Tianshui's family, otherwise it would be difficult to deal with the situation if it got out of hand.

Everyone knew how cruel the Prince of Tianshui was when he was appointed prime minister. Even a strong woman like Lady Guoguo could not even think of asking for an extra copper coin from the treasury.

Jiang Du was even more shocked. He had not thought that Li Xuan would come the next day after returning to Chang'an.

Although Li Xuan always called him "Father-in-law", Jiang Du always felt that Li Xuan was teasing him.

"I will go to meet you personally!"

Jiang Du immediately went out to greet him without even caring about Yan Lu.

At this time, he reported the matter to King Tianshui, perhaps he could save his house.

Even a clay man can get angry. Jiang Du was forced into a corner by Yang Jian and was ready to compromise with his "son-in-law".

In front of the Jiang Mansion, Li Xuan was holding Li Song's hand and waiting outside the door.

It's different from my own residence, so entering directly is not in accordance with etiquette.

Visitors were either invited in by servants or greeted by the host himself.

"King Tianshui is here to visit us. I hope you won't mind my failure to welcome you."

After Jiang Du walked out quickly, he bowed to Li Xuan.

"Father-in-law, you don't have to do this."

Li Xuan stopped Jiang Du from paying his respects and said, "Yueyao is far away in Anxi Qiuci, thousands of miles away, and she can't come back in a short time. I am here to visit you on her behalf!"

"As long as Yueyao is fine, there's no need to rush around."

Jiang Du thought of his beloved daughter and felt quite touched.

The noble ladies of Chang'an often returned to their parents' homes, but there were restrictions on concubines.

The fact that Li Xuan acted like this showed that he still doted on his daughter very much, and he felt relieved.

"Song'er, this is your grandfather, call him Grandpa."

Li Xuan said while touching the back of Li Song's head.

Since Li Song started keeping records, he probably hasn't seen Jiang Du's mansion.

It is impossible for Jiang Du to go to Tianshui Palace.

"Grandpa?"

Li Song was very surprised as to how another grandpa suddenly appeared.

But he still obeyed his grandfather's orders.

"My grandson is so old now. I am a failure as a grandfather."

Jiang Du couldn't help but burst into tears.

His daughter's status as a concubine prevented him from meeting Li Song.

After hearing what Li Xuan said, Jiang Du felt very uncomfortable.

He even wanted to reach out and touch Li Song, but subconsciously pulled his hand back.

"Qiang!"

"How dare you! What are you doing?"

Suddenly, Pei Ying beside him shouted.

Dozens of blue-clothed servants, led by Yan Lu, swarmed out of the gate of Jiang Du's mansion.

Pei Ying thought they were assassins because of their aggressive look, so he immediately drew his sword from his waist.

When Li Xuan returned to Chang'an this time, he only brought with him a hundred battle-hardened personal guards.

Because he had to be on duty at night, in addition to those who rested in the Tianshui Palace and escorted Pei Lingxi and Shuang'er back, he had thirty other people with him.

In Chang'an City, the guards did not wear armor, but only dark armor and carried swords.

After Luo Xing and Xue Cuo were sent out by Li Xuan to do important things, Pei Ying had always been the commander of Li Xuan's personal guards.

After Pei Ying drew his sword, his personal guards drew their swords one after another. More than ten personal guards quickly moved forward, and the rest were going to chop Yan Lu and others.

Even Li Xuan was slightly surprised. He thought his father-in-law was going to use courtesy before force against him.

"Stop, we are Guangluqing's servants."

Yan Yu no longer had the same confidence as before. Seeing Li Xuan's personal guards rushing towards him with swords in hand, he shouted quickly.

He just wanted to sneak away when Li Xuan entered Jiang Du's mansion and report the situation to Yang Jian.

I didn't expect it to cause such a big reaction.

There are more than tens of millions of people who want Li Xuan dead? Li Xuan's guards have always been very strict, and they will not let go of any disturbance.

A group of blue-clothed servants rushed out from the door not far from Li Xuan with "menacing momentum" and were naturally regarded as "assassins".

During a normal visit, the host would never do anything so abrupt.

Seeing these blue-clothed servants raising their hands and shouting, Li Xuan's personal guards did not drop their swords.

"Father-in-law! What's going on?"

Li Xuan asked Jiang Du with a stern face.

His son Li Song was so scared that he hugged Li Xuan's thighs and refused to let go.

In Chang'an City, Li Xuan was a minister who could legally be followed by a certain number of personal guards, and could even order the Jinwu Guards to clear the way.

Even Li Longji believed that there were always unruly people who wanted to assassinate Li Xuan.

"Lord Tianshui, they are the servants of the Guanglu Qing. They want to buy my house by force. They are arrogant and rude. I can't control them. Maybe because of your arrival, they want to leave temporarily."

Jiang Du quickly explained to Li Xuan.

He just happened to tell Li Xuan that Yang Jian wanted to forcefully buy his house.

Li Xuan's might at this moment made Jiang Du's heart palpitate. This kind of iron-blooded spirit cultivated on the battlefield, a little anger, is frightening.

"Isn't that Yang Jian's homestead right next to it? He wants to build a big mansion, so why would he be interested in my father-in-law's house?"

Li Xuan pointed to the residential land under construction and asked Jiang Du.

In fact, I already have some guesses in my mind.

"Replying to Prince Tianshui, Guanglu Qing felt that the mansion he built was not large enough, and wanted to occupy my mansion as well. I have such a big mansion, but he only offered 1,000 strings of cash. I didn't agree, so Guanglu Qing's servant butler came to my mansion to threaten me."

Jiang Du told the story.

"If one's heart is as greedy as a pit, the earth will never be able to satisfy it! Does he want to occupy Shengyefang one day? If Shengyefang is turned into Yang Zhen's mansion, it should be bigger than Xingqing Palace where the saint lives, right?"

Li Xuan frowned and showed his anger on purpose.

Seeing that Jiang Du was cautious and did not dare to continue, Li Xuan asked Jiang Du again: "Father-in-law, doesn't Yang Jian know that you are my father-in-law? Or does he know and is deliberately embarrassing me?"

"Replying to Prince Tianshui, I have already told Guangluqing's steward, but he called you by your name and said that his master is not afraid of you either!"

Jiang Du looked at Yan Lu and repeated what Yan Lu had just said in the lobby of Jiang Mansion.

Pei Ying and his personal guards were very angry when they heard this. As long as Li Xuan gave the order, they would chop these dozens of slaves into meat paste.

"Let us leave quickly. My master is the Minister of Imperial Households, Yang, the brother of the Imperial Concubine."

Seeing a group of bodyguards glaring at him with knives in their hands, Yan Lu still refused to move away and shouted in a timid manner.

He was just passing by, and I don't think Li Xuan would keep pestering him.

Beating a dog also depends on the owner.

What's more, Li Xuan is no longer the prime minister, and the power of their Yang family is growing.

All matters, big or small, in the court were handled by Prime Minister Yang.

The only thing he was afraid of was Li Xuan, who was born a military general and did not play by the rules.

After hearing Yan Lu's shouting, Li Xuan carried Li Song into the carriage and then came to Yan Lu.

Yan Yu looked at Li Xuan nervously and didn't dare to say anything.

"My official title is the Grand Protector of Anxi, my non-official title is the General of the Cavalry, my honor is the Grand Pillar of the State, my title is the Prince of Tianshui, and my mission is the Jiedushi of Anxi Beiting and the Ambassador of Jinglüe. How dare you, a slave, call me by my name? Ask Yang Jian if he dares to do that?"

Li Xuan questioned Yan Yu.

It would be fine if it was just said in private, but calling his father-in-law Jiang Du by his name was like a slap in his face.

Li Xuan watched Yang Jian building a large-scale project like building a palace, and suppressed his anger in his heart.

Moreover, Yang Jian expanded his mansion and bullied him. Do you really think he won't stand up for his father-in-law?
"I never said that!"

Yan Lu denied it flatly. Jiang Du was the only one there at the time, so he just had to deny it.

"What does it mean that Yang Jian forced his way into buying my father-in-law's house? As an official appointed by the imperial court and a relative of the emperor, why can't he abide by the laws of the country?"

Li Xuan knew that these servants were used to being arrogant and domineering, had no sense of shame, and were stubborn and stubborn.

He asked this, wanting to see what Yan Lu had to say.

Jiang Du was an official with little presence in the court. He was timid and cautious and would never dare to take the initiative to provoke Yang.

"My master paid for the house, but Yang Shaoqing was greedy and wanted more money."

Yan Yu said with gritted teeth.

"So how much do you think this house is worth?"

Li Xuan pointed at the gate of Jiang Du’s mansion and said.

"One thousand strings of cash, no... two thousand strings of cash."

Yan Lu felt the coldness in Li Xuan's eyes, and just as he said "one thousand strings of cash", he suddenly corrected himself.

In fact, Yang Jian paid 2,000 strings of cash to buy Jiang Du's house, but Yan Yu and other blue-clothed servants took advantage of their master's reputation and embezzled the money.

Afterwards, you can go to the brothel and have some fun.

"Your Highness, they said I have seven days to move out of the city if I don't get one thousand strings of cash. Otherwise, they will use force."

Jiang Du continued, saying that he didn't care about anything now and wanted to vent his anger, so he put everything on Li Xuan, hoping that Li Xuan would help him defend the Jiang Mansion for Yue Yao's sake.

As long as the Jiang family was there, Yang would be able to see that Prince Tianshui had a special relationship with him and would not dare to bully him at will.

"The Minister of Rites is a fourth-rank official who presides over the ancestral temple sacrifices. He is appointed by the Saint himself. If they dare to demolish the residence of the Minister of Rites, what else would they not dare to do? This is not only a disregard for the law, but also a contempt for the Saint!"

Li Xuan's eyes moved slightly, and he directly put the blame on Yang Jian who was behind the scenes.

"King Tianshui, please stop slandering me. My master's house is bigger, so what?"

Yan Yu got hot-headed and thrust his neck forward, looking up like a dog guarding its master.

Do you have the guts to kill me?

Or let me go!

He was sure that Li Xuan would not dare to do so and would let him go obediently.

Even if the matter is brought to the attention of a saint, his master can handle it.

"How dare you be so presumptuous!"

"bump!"

Seeing Yan Lu being so arrogant, Pei Ying suddenly punched Yan Lu in the face.

"what!"

Yan Lu was caught off guard and fell to the ground with a scream.

Pei Ying was extremely strong and knocked out several of Yan Lu's teeth with one punch, causing blood to spurt out of his mouth.

Seeing Pei Ying really dare to hit the housekeeper, a group of blue-clothed servants, who only bully the weak and fear the strong, did not dare to resist the guards. They retreated nervously and huddled together...

(End of this chapter)