Tang Dynasty: The seventh rank of official residence, and you will be given the Ten Thousand People

After pouring out the water in the basin, Shangguan Wan'er took off Wu Zetian's dress and spoke.

"Your Majesty, I have something that I don't understand. Although Fan Xin has made some achievements, he has not yet reached the point of opening up a vast territory. How can you..."

"Why would I personally receive a small county magistrate, right?"

Wu Zetian stepped into the water naked, the steam was steaming, and there was a hint of melancholy in her eyes.

If she is only willing to be a queen mother, she naturally does not need to show her favor to the small county magistrate.

But the problem is that her ultimate long-cherished wish is to ascend to the throne and become the first female emperor in history.

Therefore, he needed to win over ministers like Fan Xin who had no background and outstanding abilities.

At the same time, she also told the world that what Wu Zetian valued most was talents.

In this way, the importance of Fan Xin can be imagined.

After withdrawing her thoughts, Wu Zetian said quietly.

"When Duke Heng of Qi heard that Guan Zhong was very talented, he put down his government affairs and drove his carriage to meet him in person."

"As the Empress Dowager of the Tang Dynasty, I am responsible for the country, the country and the country. It doesn't matter if I meet a seventh-grade county magistrate."

Although the words were said in an understatement, Shangguan Wan'er still understood the meaning and said with a smile.

"If Fan Xin is Guan Zhong, then you must be Qi Henggong who appoints talents."

When Wu Zetian heard Shangguan Wan'er comparing herself to Duke Heng of Qi who dominated the Spring and Autumn Period, Wu Zetian was delighted and laughed.

"You girl will be nice and obedient. Now, bring me the gauze clothes."

"Yes, Queen Mother!"

Just as Shangguan Wan'er was about to get the gauze clothes, a chamberlain hurriedly pushed open the palace door and knelt outside the screen to say something.

"To report to the Queen Mother, Qiu Shenji, the envoy of Bozhou, sent a message. The convoy has arrived at Mingyue Villa twenty miles outside Luoyang City and will arrive at the palace tomorrow."

"I understand." Wu Zetian said to Shangguan Wan'er as she signaled the chamberlain to step back.

"Go and tell Prime Minister Zhang Guangfu that I will hold a large court meeting in Shangyang Palace tomorrow, and all officials above the fifth rank will attend."

"I want to personally canonize this young county magistrate who has made great achievements in front of the civil and military officials of the court!"

"I obey the order." Shangguan Wan'er bowed and stood up and walked out. She hesitated before going out and said.

"Queen Mother, do you want to invite Your Majesty to attend the meeting?"

"Li Dan?"

Wu Zetian said coldly: "He doesn't need to. Before the rebellion case of Li Zhen and his son is investigated, he should stay in Jing'an Hall and reflect."

"Wei Chen understands." Shangguan Wan'er promised, pushing open the palace door and blending into the night.

When the hall became quiet, Wu Zetian put on a transparent gauze dress and came to the entrance of the hall, looking at the quiet road in the direction of Jing'an Hall.

"Since ancient times, there has been no family affection in the royal family. Dan'er, don't blame the mother. I have no choice for the sake of the emperor's dominance..."

Twenty miles outside Luoyang City, there is Mingyue Villa.

Fan Xin was wearing coarse linen clothes and sitting at the chess table. Opposite him, Li Chong was holding a black piece and frowning, seemingly undecided.

a long time.

Li Chong threw away the black man and waved his hand: "No more playing, no more playing. Dalong has been killed and the coach is surrounded. There is absolutely no possibility of survival. Fan Xin, you win."

Fan Xin smiled calmly and dropped the white piece on the chessboard.

"So what if I win? In the end, I won't end up like you with my body and head in a different place."

Seeing that Fan Xin looked calm and not at all panicked, Li Chong said curiously.

"Fan Xin, I am a little curious. First you resisted Li Tang's army from attacking the city, and now you are at odds with Wu Meiniang's cronies. What are you doing for this purpose?"

Normally speaking, being a seventh-rank official is considered entering the officialdom. You should know that the officialdom has its own set of rules of conduct.

But Fan Xin's behavior of attaching importance to love and justice is not something that an official can do.

Fan Xin glanced at Li Chong, stood up and came to the window and said.

"We have a saying that when you are an official and you don't make decisions for the people, it is better to go home and sell sweet potatoes. At the beginning, I wanted to get promoted and make a fortune."

"But when I saw that the people had no way to ask for help, I had only one thought."

"That's to do something practical for the people! Save them from being bullied by those turtle bastards!"

Looking at the excited Fan Xin, Li Chong was slightly shaken, with a dazed look in his eyes. He had not seen such a passionate young man in the officialdom for many years.

Suppressing the surprise in his heart, Li Chong said with a smile: "I didn't expect you to be quite strong, but I made a mistake."

"No wonder when Qiu Shenji arrested you, the whole city stood up to defend you. You are worth it based on this affection alone."

"I just don't understand something. The whole city was yours at that time. Why didn't you run away instead of coming to Luoyang to die?"

Fan Xin was silent for a while, turned around and looked directly at Li Chongdao.

"Because Fan promised a person that he would help her get justice and bring this beast Qiu Shenji to justice!"

"If you escape, how can you complain to the emperor!"

Hearing these decisive words, Li Chong's expression suddenly changed.

"Are you coming to the capital to complain?" He never expected that Fan Xin would hide this thought.

Fan Xin nodded: "Yes, Fan is a lowly official and cannot interrogate Qiu Shenji, so the only way left is to file a complaint."

"In the end, no matter whether it was successful or not, Fan has no regrets about Little Fengxian."

Quiet.

The room was unusually quiet, with only the crackling sound of the bonfire burning.

Li Chong found that Zi Ji seemed to admire Fan Xin a little.

The dignified Qipin County Magistrate actually did this for a brothel girl.

Throughout history, nothing like this has ever happened.

Thinking of this, he made a decision.

"Fan Xin, we will be taken to Luoyang tomorrow. If nothing happens, we will have a few days to live at most."

"Before I die, I plan to entrust you with the gold, silver and jewelry hidden in the palace and the list." After saying that, he picked up the brush and wrote a few words on the paper. "

"Why are you entrusting it to me?" Fan Xin frowned after writing down the above content.

Li Chong threw the paper into the bonfire and said with a tired look.

"Succeed as king or lose as bandit. If I lose, I will naturally die, but it would be a pity if a passionate official like you dies."

"These things may be able to save your life in the future, go ahead, I am tired."

Seeing that Li Chong didn't want to talk anymore, Fan Xin gave a solemn salute, turned around and walked out of the room.

There was a faint and desolate voice behind him.

"The lord is not a lord, and the king is not a king. Thousands of horses are riding back to Mang Mountain."

"After me, when you are injured again, I will sing Guangling San, and I will play Li Yunniang again in the next life!"

Fan Xin stopped and turned his head with a complicated expression.

A blazing figure shouted loudly in the sky.

"Fan Xin! Bury my king's ashes and the woman on the flagpole..."

With a rumble, peace returned to the ruins...

A moment later, Qiu Shenji and others rushed to the scene and saw Li Chong being burned alive by the fire. He punched his breastplate and gritted his teeth.

"Damn it, I haven't asked about the blood-sucking list yet. What will I tell the Queen Mother tomorrow?