Chapter 951 Siblings Reunion
On the south road of Chang'an, a group of carriages and pedestrians were walking from the north.
This team is not small in size. There are thousands of fully armed samurai followers in front and behind. There are also more than a dozen carriages in front and behind. There are also hundreds of men and women accompanying the carriages. They are walking on the road in great numbers. Vast.
Pedestrians on the road stayed away from the battle when they saw it, and did not dare to come in and cause trouble. The team moved forward unimpeded and soon arrived at Longyuan Academy in the southeast of Chang'an City.
In the academy, Li Taizheng personally met with Han Guo, the governor of Yanzhou, and Cui Qian, Li Yantou, Mao Shijian and other former northern Shaanxi tribesmen from Suizhou and other places.
Although he has been active in Shannan for many years and has not visited northern Shaanxi for several years, northern Shaanxi is after all an important part of the development of his power in Kansai. And because his personnel management in northern Shaanxi was so good that even after falling out with the Chinese Foreign Affairs Office, the Chinese Foreign Affairs Office still retained his personnel department in northern Shaanxi without making any major adjustments.
Everyone in northern Shaanxi had also been separated from Li Tai for several years. Family members and confidants such as Li Yantou had followed him all the way since he entered the customs. However, in order to maintain the personnel foundation in northern Shaanxi, Li Yantou had been stationed in northern Shaanxi and completely missed it. It tells a series of deeds about Li Tai's rise in Shannan Road. We meet again after a long absence, and our hearts are filled with sadness. We each have endless topics to talk about.
After a heart-to-heart talk, the time quickly passed from early morning to afternoon. In addition to other people's conversation, Li Tai also had a relatively comprehensive understanding of the current personnel development status of various places in northern Shaanxi.
At this time, Dugu Bin, who was dressed in plain robes, walked into the hall from outside, clasped his fists towards Li Tai and said, "I would like to inform Mr. Tang that the princess and the Grand Sima family have arrived."
After hearing this, people in the hall stood up and left one after another. Li Tai also stood up from the table, raised his finger and pointed at Li Yan's head and said: "Now that you have returned home, please entertain all your colleagues for me. If the hospitality is not good, , if you displease others, I will punish you!”
"Don't worry, Alang, I will make sure you all feel like a guest at home!"
Li Yantou quickly puffed up his chest and expressed his stance. He was already brave and lively among the generals. Now that he finally met his master, he felt particularly happy.
After everyone left, Li Tai also left the hall and went to the side courtyard with Dugu Bin. Dugu Bin was Gao Bin, and he had returned from northern Shaanxi together with Li Yantou and others not long ago. As Dugu Xin's retainer, he had to assist with funeral matters after his return.
At this time, in the side courtyard of the academy, Dugu Bin's son Dugu Jiong was also running back and forth to help move the utensils on the carriage into the hall. But while he was helping, he was also following a man of similar age and height. Behind him, a young man with long arms and a tiger skin hat on his head kept approaching and whispered something.
This young man is his classmate Yang Jian. When the Dugu family was in trouble before, Yang Jian followed and escorted the Dugu family to Hanzhong, and now they are returning together. Dugujun was curious about what they had seen along the way across the Qinling Mountains, but Yang Jian was taciturn and too lazy to respond.
"Meet Mr. Tang!"
As Li Tai walked in, many guards and servants stopped what they were doing and worshiped on the left side of the road. After Dugujuan and Yang Jian saw this, they both hurriedly stepped forward to greet him.
When he saw Yang Jian wearing a tiger skin hat, Li Tai couldn't help but tremble at the corner of his mouth. Tiger skin and tiger hair are often said to have the effect of warding off evil spirits and calming panic among the people. Therefore, wealthy people usually make tiger skins into children's clothing and wear them. Some soldiers in the army often use tiger skins as clothing and accessories to show their power.
The tiger skin hat Yang Jian wears probably belongs to the former style. It looks a bit cute at first glance, but if it matches his young, mature, bitter and resentful face and temperament, it looks a bit old and young, and the painting style A bit bizarre.
However, at this time and atmosphere, all these gimmicks flashed past Li Tai's mind, and he immediately stepped forward, patted him on the shoulder and said, "Thank you for your hard work."
After Yang Jian heard this, he bowed slightly to greet him and replied: "Young men are weak and can only do what they can. I still rely on Duke Tang to take charge of important matters."
While they were talking, several young men in tassels ran out of the room, all of whom were the sons of Dugu Xin. The first one, Dugu Shan, is a few years older than Yang Jian, but due to his appearance and personality, he looks less adult than Yang Jian.
Several teenagers rushed to Li Tai, crying before saying anything. Dugu Shan choked with sobs and said sadly: "Brother-in-law, Aye died so unjustly... Have the murderers who harmed Aye been captured? I want these dogs to be killed." The thief cut his body into pieces!"
After hearing this, the other sons of Dugu Xin also nodded their heads, gnashing their teeth and looking extremely angry and wishing they could tear the murderer Yu Wenjue and others alive.
"You all shut up! The country has national laws. We, Aye, are the ministers of the country. We were killed without guilt. Even if we want to take revenge, we should first hold the perpetrators accountable according to the national laws. Your brother-in-law is now in charge of national affairs, thinking about the general affairs, and will definitely give public and private rights to his family. Proper judgment. After returning from this calamity, the first priority is to bury Aye properly and with all due etiquette. Don’t ask about other things first!”
At this time, Miaoyin also came out of the hall, stood in the corridor and shouted to several younger brothers who were wailing around Li Tai.
After the boys dispersed, Li Taicai walked to his wife again. Seeing her look sad and haggard, he comforted her in a gentle voice: "Don't worry, madam, everything is under control. After some regulations, everything will be fine." Vengeance will be avenged."
As he was talking, he helped his wife walk back to the hall. Miaoyin sighed softly, "Aye, he didn't listen to the advice and took the risk, which led to this disaster. My husband has done his best before, and I can only rely on him to do his best afterwards. I am pregnant now, and my brothers are still young and stupid and can't handle things, but because I have you to handle things, I am sad but I still take care of myself.
Family and national affairs are complicated, and it is natural to put public interests before private interests. It is not easy for my husband to get to where he is now. He sentenced and sentenced instead of indulging in tyranny. I can understand my husband's considerations. If my brothers don't understand, I will teach them slowly. My husband can handle things with confidence, and don't have to think deeply about personal feelings."
Hearing his wife's words, Li Tai was also quite relieved. Yuwen Jue was so bold that he committed the evil act of setting fire to Dugu Xin. Dugu Xin's sons were also young and frivolous. In their anger, they might have imagined many ways to torture and kill Yuwen Jue and other murderers.
However, from the perspective of the court's criminal law, Yuwen Jue and others should be sentenced to death. But if they are tortured, it will lose the meaning of the canonical punishment. So Li Tai sent a letter to his wife before, hoping that his wife could understand him.
"Although the national law has standards, it will never be used to hurt human feelings. My father-in-law's experience is really heartbreaking, and the sentencing and punishment must be reflected in the future! I am not only a ruling minister, but also a husband and father. My wife feeds my children and tidies up the family affairs for me. Of course, I also want my wife to be open-minded and not to be depressed."
Speaking of this, Li Tai raised his hand and called Dugu Bin to him and whispered a few instructions. Dugu Bin nodded and walked out quickly after hearing the words. After a while, he introduced a young man who was also dressed in mourning.
The young man's eyebrows and eyes are vaguely similar to Dugu Xin, but his style and demeanor are very different, giving people a sense of restraint, introversion and caution. After entering the courtyard, he walked to Li Tai and bowed with great ceremony, saying: "I, Dugu Luo, pay my respects to Lord Tang!"
This young man was Dugu Luo, the eldest son of Dugu Xin who was left in Guandong. He had been imprisoned in Zhongshan as a hostage with other families of Western Wei ministers since he was a child. Previously, Li Tai took advantage of the victory of Heluo to negotiate with Northern Qi. One of the conditions was to return these hostages to Western Wei, and Dugu Luo was one of them.
Unlike Dugu Xin's other children who were born to be pampered and enjoy a prominent family background, such as Dugu Shan, who is now a county duke and has a cavalry office just by virtue of his family background, Dugu Luo was born a prisoner because of his family background and lived in fear for many years. Li Tai has emphasized several times that they can get along with each other as family members, but he bows with great ceremony every time he meets and dares not be rude.
"This, this is Brother Luo Ren who stayed in Guandong?" Miaoyin had never seen this brother before, but she knew about him from her father's oral description. When she saw Dugu Luo come forward and bow, she couldn't help but look at Li Tai excitedly and asked. Li Tai nodded after hearing this, and then said to Dugu Luo: "Luo Ren, there is no need to be polite. Today, all the family members have returned, so I brought you to see me." "Yes, brother, please don't be polite, there is no need to be so, no need to be so! Our Aye misses you so much. If he knew you were here today... Alas, although family members are not good, the blood relationship is always true. Come in quickly, I will introduce you to your parents and brothers and sisters." Miaoyin was somewhat embarrassed in front of this brother she had never met before, but soon her mood became a little excited and happy. Although her father's death made her feel sad, she was also relieved to see that there was an adult brother in the family who could support the family. Seeing that Dugu Luo was still a little reserved and cautious, she took the initiative to show some enthusiasm, led Dugu Luo into the hall, and introduced him to the family members present one by one.
In the hall, Cui and Dugu Xin's other concubines were also very happy to see the eldest son who had been stranded in Guandong return. They also had the same idea as Miaoyin, hoping that there would be an adult male in the household to take charge.
However, the other brothers and sisters were not very friendly and enthusiastic when they saw this completely unfamiliar and somewhat timid brother, especially the older ones who were a little wary in their alienated attitude. However, they still had to give face to the brother-in-law who helped them find their relatives, and did not show too much rejection.
They traveled a long way from Hanzhong to Chang'an. After a short rest in Longyuan Academy, they immediately returned to their home in Chang'an City to officially hold a funeral for Dugu Xin.
Miaoyin was a married woman, and she knew she was more than two months pregnant when she left Xiangyang. After the long journey, she stayed in her own home in Longyuan to rest and take care of the baby under the care of Madam Yao and several female doctors who accompanied her.