Ai Yan's request was indeed approved by Gu Lulu, and he sent a general and five hundred wolf horsemen as escorts for Ai Yan to inspect the various parts of the steppe in place of the Khan.

Every year in the spring, the Turkic Khan would routinely inspect the various tribes of the steppe, in addition to condolences to the tribal people, contact each other's feelings, and then check the disasters caused by the wind and snow last winter. This year, because of the preparations for the conquest of the Khitan, Gu Lulu has not been able to make the trip.

In the eyes of outsiders, Princess Aiyan of the Ashina clan and Gulu Khan, who is also of the Ashina clan, are "one". Now Gu Lulu has handed over this task to Ai Yan to carry out, which can be described as killing multiple birds with one stone. However, Gu Lu also made his own arrangements, the son of God must stay in the tooth tent, and Ai Yan could only bring Gu Lulu's eldest son, Mo Jianlian, with him.

This intention is obvious, Gu Lulu doesn't want Ai Yan to use this to buy people's hearts and ears for their mother and son. His eldest son, Mo Jianlian, is also eight or nine years old, and can understand some things, and it is time for him to see some of the world and accumulate some prestige.

Ai Yan couldn't refuse, so he had to leave Krakus at home and let Xuanyunzi take care of him, and he took the Mojilian special service and five hundred wolf riders to set off.

The secret service was a Turkic official, equivalent to a "prince".

The grasslands are vast, and the territories of the various tribes are far apart. Ai Yan will take as little as three months and more than half a year to come back. She was inevitably a little worried about Xuanyunzi and Krakus in her heart, but the current major events could not allow her to have too many motherly and childlike hearts in her heart, so she had to grit her teeth and go forward.

In addition, if Yuan Zhen really appeared, Ai Yan was also a little worried about whether he could really kill him. Because the general escort of the escort will be Asted Luohe. He was the general of the Turkic Khanate, second only to Mosi, and a diehard loyalist of Yuanzhen. But the thought of having the sheep slave Mon Eba by her side made her feel much more at ease.

"With him, why be afraid of thousands of troops?"

……

Two months have passed, and in the blink of an eye, it is the height of summer with the scorching sun.

Just after noon that day, Xue Shao received a six-hundred-mile express report from the front line of the Western Regions in the Xia Guanguan Office. He didn't care that it was too hot to go out in the afternoon, so he immediately pulled Yao Yuanchong into the palace to ask to see the emperor.

"Why is Shangshu in such a hurry?" Yao Yuanchong asked as he changed his clothes.

Xue Shao said with a smile: "It's not urgent to receive the reward, there is a problem with my brain!" ”

Yao Yuanchong's eyes lit up, "Wang Xiaojie won?" ”

"Less nonsense, let's go!"

The two of them entered the palace under the scorching sun, their backs soaking wet. When I arrived at the study, the weather was too hot, and the emperor had already gone to the Ningbi Pond in the inner court and boarded the dragon boat to rest in the summer.

Yao Yuanchong smiled bitterly, "It seems that this reward is not easy to receive." ”

Xue Shao's mind turned, and he said to the eunuch servant: "I have 100,000 urgent matters, and I want to see Your Majesty." Please also pass it on your behalf. ”

"Xue Gong, Ningbichi dragon boat goes back and forth, it's going to be dark." The eunuch smiled and said, "If Duke Xue wants to see His Majesty, why do you need to spread it?" Let me lead the way for Xue Gong and go straight to Ningbi Pond. ”

"Then there is Father-in-law Lao!"

Yao Yuanchong was secretly frightened, and said to Xue Shao: "It's not appropriate to invade the inner court like this, right?" ”

The implication is obvious, what if His Majesty is playing with a face and is broken by the minister?

Xue Shao blinked, but it was also a reason, so he said: "You go back to the official office, and I will go to receive the reward alone." ”

Yao Yuanchong smiled bitterly, "Shangshu, you are not kind!" ”

"That can't be helped, kind of you go to the inner court with me?"

"Forget it, I'll go back to the official office......"

After all, not everyone can be as taboo-free in front of the empress as Xue Shao, Yao Yuanchong left obediently. Between receiving the reward and saving his life, he was still willing to choose the latter.

Xue Shao looked at Yao Yuanchong's back and laughed, and said in his heart The reason why I brought you here was actually because I heard a little rumor, saying that the empress wanted to promote you to the Feng Pavilion. I wanted to strike while the iron was hot to facilitate this, but now it seems that you are probably out of luck!

The eunuch led Xue Shao into the inner court, and the empress was indeed boating on the Ningbi Pond, and Xue Shao could hear the sound of silk and bamboo from a distance on the shore. The waiter on the shore first rowed a small boat to report the report, and then came back to take Xue Shao to the dragon boat after getting the order.

Wu Zetian's interest today is obviously good, and he brought several poets to board a boat and tour the lake to write poems and drink wine, and Shangguan Wan'er was also there, but he didn't meet the first person.

After Xue Shao boarded the boat, Wu Zetian stopped the music first and asked him what was the matter?

Xue Shao handed over the chapter, Wu Zetian was overjoyed after reading it, and praised repeatedly: "Wang Xiaojie is really talented!" ”

Xue Shao said: "Wang Xiaojie has traveled thousands of miles, and it is not easy for the veterans of the division to retreat to Tibet and recover Gongyue City in one drum. Your Majesty deserves to be rewarded! ”

"It's inevitable." Wu Zetian raised his eyebrows and said with a happy face, and said: "Chengyu, you are honest and impartial, you use people to get the law, and you are also indispensable to strategize and win a thousand miles." I will also be rewarded. ”

Xue Shao smiled and said, "Your Majesty, the ministers are doing their part, and they don't dare to ask for credit." In fact, in this western expedition, the minister only came up with one or two ideas at most, and the specific affairs were all done by Yao Yuanchong, the official of Xia. If you talk about merit, Wang Xiaojie and Ashina Zhongjie should be the first, and Yao Yuanchong is also indispensable! ”

Wu Zetian nodded and said with a smile: "Chengyu, you gave all the credit to Wang Xiaojie and Yao Yuanchong, so why did you work hard for this trip?" ”

Xue Shao blinked his eyes and said with a smile: "Colleagues and subordinates are capable, and ministers can reduce their burdens and live leisurely." This is the best thing to do! ”

"You!" Wu Zetian pointed at Xue Shao and smiled, "Are you afraid that I will reward you for your merits and deeds, and arrest you in the political hall?" ”

"Well, yes." Xue Shao said seriously, "There are too many things in the political hall, there are more rules, too tired and too restrained, and it is seriously not suitable for Weichen." ”

"That's it, I can't talk about you." Wu Zetian shook his head helplessly and smiled, "I will issue an edict to reward Wang Xiaojie and the soldiers of the Western Expedition." In addition, I wanted to promote Yao Yuanchong to the Feng Pavilion to do things. What do you think? ”

Xue Shao's expression changed, and he said hurriedly: "Your Majesty, you are digging people in the corner!" Yao Yuanchong is gone, and the minister still has to die of exhaustion? ”

"Bold!" Wu Zetian feigned anger and reprimanded: "Yao Yuanchong is a minister of the Great Zhou, I can use him as much as I want, can you still have an opinion?" ”

Xue Shao smiled bitterly, "Then Your Majesty should always make up for me a capable person, right?" ”

Wu Zetian smiled and said: "This martial arts event is very good, and Xiao Zhizhong, a member of the staff, has made great contributions. Over the years, he has been working hard, and now he has outstanding political achievements. After thinking about it, I promoted Xiao Zhizhong to the Xia official squire to fill the vacancy of Yao Yuanchong. Let your third brother Xue Xu then top the vacancy of the foreign officer. So, you should be satisfied, right? ”

"This ......" Xue Shao blinked his eyes and said, "The minister has no opinion. However, my third brother is a fool who lacks heart, and he has to be his school secretary in the secretary province. The minister and his brother repeatedly advised him to find another way, even if it was good to be a state and county foreign official to accumulate some political experience, but he just didn't listen. The minister is also helpless! ”

Wu Zetian nodded and said, "This reminds me of Pei Yan." At the beginning, Pei Yan also had no intention of concentrating on study, and he had been in the history museum for more than ten years. I don't mean anything else, but I think there are not many people who are willing to devote themselves to studying now. Especially the children of the Xue family who are from famous families, who doesn't want to enter the official career as soon as possible to get a high-ranking official? Brother Ling is from a noble background and has two brothers in important positions, and he is still a Jinshi Bangyanlang from Guozijian, but it is not easy to be able to study with a pure heart and few desires. Perhaps among the three of you, only Xue Xu has the best hope of taking over the mantle of Ling Zun and achieving a generation of Wenzong. ”

Xue Shao smiled, "Your Majesty is counting the number of ministers who don't study?" ”

"That's not either." Wu Zetian said with a smile, "I know that you are diligent and hardworking, but you are not a traditional Confucian scholar, which is also an indisputable fact. Fenyin Xue is a family of poetry and books, and each generation will produce several contemporary Confucians. Brother Ling lost to Xue Ji in the imperial examination and only won the second place, presumably he was dissatisfied in his heart. The secretary province of the imperial court is the largest collection of books in the world, and since he can endure loneliness and devote himself to studying books, it is not necessarily a bad thing. Therefore, I did not do anything to encourage the seedlings to grow, and drove him out of the study. However, someone should always take over the vacancy left by Xiao Zhizhong, and be in charge of the martial arts platform and martial arts. Who's the right person, you say? ”

Xue Shao thought for a while and said, "The minister is responsible for raising one person, but I am afraid that His Majesty will not agree." ”

Wu Zetian smiled, "If Chengyu dares to speak, I dare to agree." ”

Xue Shao smiled hesitantly and said, "Wei Yuanzhong, the county lieutenant of Hongxian County, is worthy of this position. What does Your Majesty think? ”

Wu Zetian was slightly stunned at first, and then smiled, "You have no jokes." Now that you have opened this mouth, I promise you. ”

Xue Shao bowed his hand, "Thank you, Your Majesty!" ”

Shangguan Wan'er only smiled secretly on the side, and said in her heart that there was really a more and more tacit understanding between His Majesty and Xue Shao. His Majesty has always valued Wei Yuanzhong's character and talent, and it is really a last resort to demote him from the capital. Right now, Your Majesty is suffering from no one who dares to admonish and recall Wei Yuanzhong, it can't be that Your Majesty himself has just degraded others and recalled him immediately, right? Xue Shao said at this time, not only saving Wei Yuanzhong's career but also calling the empress's mind, which is really a lot of win. In this way, Luoyang demoted Wei Yuanzhong from the capital for only three months, and was immediately recalled to the capital to serve as a Xia official wailang. Although the official quality is not high, he is in charge of military affairs in the center and is in charge of martial affairs, and he has both real power and easy to see political achievements, and his future is limitless. In addition, he is working under Xue Shao's hands, and the cool officials will not be able to move him in the future-this is really a wonderful move!

A few days later, the imperial court issued an order to promote Yao Yuanchong, an official of the Xia Dynasty, to be the Fengge Shilang (Zhongshu Shilang), becoming a member of the highest decision-making body of the Great Zhou Dynasty, and directly assisting the empress in governing the country. According to the previous dynasty, the scholar Shilang was regarded as the deputy prime minister, but now he has to add "Tongfeng Pavilion Luantai Ping Zhangshi" or "Tongfeng Pavilion Luantai Sanpin" to enter the council of the political hall, so Yao Yuanchong is still one step away from the prime minister. But this step couldn't be closer, just wait for him to stay up in the Feng Pavilion for a while, and it is natural to enter the pavilion to worship the prime minister.

This is the first heavyweight talent that Xue Shao pushed to the center of the three provinces. In other words, it was the first important corner that the empress poached from Xue Shao's side.

Thinking back to the beginning, when Xue Shao had not yet married Princess Taiping, he encouraged Yao Yuanchong to enter the imperial examination, and eight or nine years have passed. According to the promotion rules of ordinary scholars, with Yao Yuanchong's current age and qualifications, it is very good to be able to do a state assassin history. But there is an old saying, there are people in the court who are good officials, who told Yao Yuanchong to meet such a noble person as Xue Shao?