Chapter 112 The courtroom filled with smoke

The rumbling drums woke Li Longji up from his sleep. Before he could set off, he hugged him with a white and smooth arm, making a sweet and trembling sound in his black hair like a waterfall, "Did Sanlang go so early? It's not dawn outside yet!

"I also want to sleep a little longer, but my ancestors are strict!"

"Your Majesty, the time is here." The eunuch on duty whispered outside the dragon couch.

"I understand!" Li Longji waved his hand and left the quilt reluctantly. Before getting out of bed, he couldn't help but kiss Yang Yuhuan's delicate face, and then he opened the curtain and came out. The eunuchs and palace maids had skillfully washed and changed his clothes for him. After nearly half an hour of busyness, Li Longji left the bedroom surrounded by the Yulin Army and headed to Hanyuan Palace.

Before the sky was dawn, Xishantou held the moon that was about to sink. The bright white moonlight turned dark red, and the sky seemed gloomy and gray. Before the dawn where light completely defeated the darkness, there was always a dark moment, but the square in front of Danfeng Gate was brightly lit. Thousands of officials above the fifth rank were extending the Dragon Tail Road and slowly walked into the hall under the gaze of the tall and mighty Yulin Army.

Day after day, the Tang Empire has been prosperous for a hundred years, and hesitated and wandered at the highest point, recalling the past and visiting the future, but hesitating and unable to settle the pace in front of him.

The hall was empty, and officials above the third rank sat in their seats according to their ranks. They all looked serious and had cold lips. They stared at the pillar in front of them and thought about the words they were going to say today. Their subordinates stood behind them and were ready for consultation at any time, while Li Longji was high above and looked down at the ministers.

"The emperor has an order, and today I will report it."

The eunuch on duty stood on the imperial terrace, facing the hall and making loud sounds. His voice was empty and distant, echoing in the hall.

This is the art of imperial decree since ancient times. The emperor sat at a very high place and the surrounding environment was dark, making the ministers unable to see the faces of the superiors clearly, but the emperor could see the ministers' every move or even a wink, making the ministers feel the depression, fear and majesty of the imperial power.

"My son has a good job and wants to report it."

Prince Li Heng stood up, perhaps because he couldn't sleep last night, his pale face became a little haggard. He took a fold from his sleeve and gently placed it on the eunuch's golden plate.

"I want to recommend Wei Jian, the Minister of Justice, as the official envoy to Nanzhao"

He made his position straight to the point and showed no drag on the mud. Perhaps this was a first move and a first move. Wei Jian was smart and capable, and was the backbone of the princelings. His sister was the princess, and he was Li Heng's brother-in-law.

Sure enough, the court was silent. Prince Xi Yude, the Minister of Rites, arranged in advance and was about to persuade the emperor to approve it. However, he was old and weak, and his long dragon tail path had made his legs weak and his muscles numb. He had just stood up tremblingly, but was rushed out by Yang Shenjin, the Minister of Personnel, who was in his prime. "Your Majesty, I have objections!"

Yang Shenjin was the legitimate descendant of Emperor Yang Guang of Sui. Logically, the Li and Yang families were irreconcilable. Even if Yang Shenjin was not a slave, he would never have a chance to make a comeback. However, the Tang Dynasty was open-minded and accommodated all rivers. Therefore, Yang Shenjin could still be the Minister of Shangshu. Yang Shenjin was about forty years old, with long hands and feet, slender and handsome figure. He was the type with elegant temperament, pragmatic and capable. He was Li Linfu's confidant and his pioneer.

"What are your objections? Let's talk about it!"

Li Longji had a expressionless face and a stiff tone. He was obviously dissatisfied with Yang Shenjin's disrespect for the elderly, but it made all the princelings happy. Yang Shenjin was about to hit a nail, and even Prince Li Heng had a relaxed expression, secretly glad that he had started early, which made Li Linfu lose his inch.

"I think no matter who is the official envoy, the key is to be respected and experienced. He represents the emperor and our Tang Dynasty. If his words are inappropriate or impolite, it will bring shame to our Tang Dynasty. His Royal Highness recommended by the Crown Prince, Shangshu Wei, is indeed smart and capable, young and promising. It is feasible to go to Nanzhao as the deputy envoy, but he is just a regular envoy. I think it seems inappropriate."

Even the dignified Minister of Justice was called "young and promising, not qualified enough." There were only three people with higher positions than him and highly respected. One was Xi Yu, the Minister of Rites; the second was Chen Xilie; the third was Li Linfu, the Right Prime Minister. Li Linfu was busy with affairs and could not go out. Besides being dissatisfied with foreigners in taking concubines, Xi Yu was probably unable to do anything else. Therefore, everyone understood that the candidate Li Linfu had only been the Left Prime Minister Chen Xilie.

Li Longji still did not make any statement and looked at Li Heng again, "What does the prince think Mr. Yang say?"

"Your Majesty, the old minister has something to say!"

Xi Yu seemed to be an alarm clock that was half a beat slower. When the person got up, it rang. Li Longji was already asking the prince, and he had just entered the state he had just entered, wanting to speak well for Wei Jian again.

He glared at Yang Shenjin angrily and walked out of the squad with difficulty, his legs trembling. No wonder, the Dragon Tail Road was about fifty steps, long and steep, which was enough to scare ordinary old people, not to mention Xi Yu, who is sixty-eight years old this year, but his energy is eighty-six.

Even Li Longji couldn't bear to look at him anymore, so he winked. Two eunuchs had already stepped forward to support him.

"No! No!" Xi Yu shook off the eunuch's hand, but used too much force and almost fell. He said magnificently: "Old minister, the old minister can still be loyal to the emperor for another ten years, so why do you say that you are old?"

"Shangshu Xi, just say whatever you have!" Li Heng sighed in his heart when he saw him making a fool of himself, and sat down again.

"The old minister thinks that there is no need to make such a big fuss in the Nanzhao country. The Piluo Pavilion is just a prince, and he sent only his second son, not the crown prince. Therefore, the Secretary of the Shang Dynasty was more than enough to return the gift, so he praised him. According to the old minister's wishes, a censor's chief minister is enough!"

He was the Minister of Rites, and he considered the face of the Celestial Empire. In terms of etiquette, it was enough. However, the strategic significance of Nanzhao and the importance of this mission were not something he could take into account. Li Heng used him, only considering his respectability and could play a role in heavy punches when he recommended Wei Jian. However, because he was slow in action, he missed the opportunity. At this time, the situation on the field changed. He should have used a light combination punch, but he ran out and used heavy punches again. Of course, his fist failed and even flashed his waist.

Sure enough, when Li Longji heard his naive words, his face gradually sank. He didn't give Prince Li Heng a chance to speak, and asked Li Linfu directly: "What are the good suggestions do Li Xiangguo have?"

Li Linfu kept watching coldly and without saying a word. Seeing that the princelings were proud of the emperor's dissatisfaction with Yang Shenjin, he sneered slightly in his eyes. The emperor would announce the promotion of Li Lin to Zongzheng Temple Minister later. The poor prince, the old, weak and disabled soldiers, still knew nothing, and he thought he had the upper hand. Last night, the emperor ordered the Ministry of Personnel to send a list of official examinations. After reading it all night, it was obvious that the emperor did not want to talk about Nanzhao at all, but wanted to arrange personnel. These people did not know the emperor's thoughts and thought they were proud. It was ridiculous.

In his opinion, Li Heng was like an old tree that was about to die. Although the main trunk was thick, the branches and leaves were too weak. The more powerful ones were like Wang Zhongsi, Zhang Qiu and Qiong were both officials in the local area, but there was really no satisfactory subordinate in the court. Only Wei Jian was barely considered a talent, but he was still a relative of the foreign country. Somehow, Li Linfu suddenly thought of Li Qing. Although this person was young, he had been tempered for two or three years and could really become Li Heng's right-hand man.

"No, I have to get rid of him, and I can't let him use it for Li Heng!"

Originally, he still wanted to win over Li Qing, but in this short period of time, Li Linfu discovered that Li Heng's capable general was too short and he planned ahead. He would rather lose Li Qing's talent than let him use it for the prince.

Suddenly, when the emperor asked him, Li Linfu got up and left the shift and said, "The old minister has no objection to whom he asked him to go. The key is that he must accurately and appropriately convey the emperor's meaning to Piluoge. However, since everyone has differences, you might as well think about it again and give the emperor another time to consider it. Your Highness, what do you think the old minister said?"

He nodded slightly to the prince, with a friendly smile on his face, as if he was giving in, but in fact, his drag would drag Li Heng into a state of doom.

Li Heng didn't know about Li Lin's affairs, so he couldn't see through Li Linfu's sinister intentions. After pondering for a while, he saw that the situation in the court did not achieve the expected results, so he nodded and said, "Father, the Prime Minister is right. Anyway, Yu Chengjie will not go back a few days later, so everyone might as well consider it."

"Okay, let's discuss this later."

Li Longji looked at Li Linfu with praise. He really didn't want to talk about Nanzhao today. What he wanted to do was to continue to undermine Li Heng's power and let him be a white-bodied prince under his wings, and wait until he could live for the Tang Dynasty.

The two personnel appointments he is going to promulgate today are: one is to appoint Li Lin as the Minister of Zongzheng Temple. This is a plan to remove the firewood from the cauldron and cut off Li Heng's additional resources; the other is the governor of Yizhou, which is also to restrain the prince's strength in the local area.

Without waiting for Li Longji to speak, the current Zongzheng Temple Minister Li Teng came out and said, "Your Majesty, the old minister is nearly 70 years old. I want to 'beg for bones' to go home to take care of my old age. I hope your majesty will beg for you."

Begging for bones is the humble statement that officials requested retirement. Li Feng had already completed the retirement procedures in the Secretariat Province. However, because he was a third-rank official, he needed to get the emperor's approval to be considered to be officially retired. However, this is just a form. Whether he retired or not was decided half a year ago. Therefore, there was no suspense about the resignation of Li Feng, King of Puyang, but who would take over his official position has aroused the interest of countless people. Everyone's eyes looked at Li Feng, the King of Xue, Li Feng, who was the Shaoqing of Zongzheng Temple, who was in charge of the Taimiao Cemetery, and the prince's confidant. It was natural for him to take over, but Li Heng's eyes were too long and forced to smile. He had heard the wind from the palace. Li Feng, the King of Xue, Li Feng, the Minister of Zongzheng Temple, may have changed.

Li Longji smiled slightly, "Xuan Sining King Li Lin"

"Xuan Sining King Li Lin enters the palace!"

Xuan's shouts were loud and loud, echoing in Danfengmen Square. The atmosphere in the court became obviously uneasy, Li Heng's smile also disappeared, and his eyes were flickering.

Li Lin soon entered the palace, "My minister Li Lin bowed to His Majesty the Emperor! I wish you a long life!"

"King Si Ning is exempt from gifts!" Li Longji looked at him and said slowly: "Since you resigned from Yizhou, I have been considering your arrangements."

Although the appointment of Li Lin as Zongzheng Temple caused a buzzing noise, they were all princelings after all. Except for the face of the heir Xue King Li Feng, Li Feng, who turned into pig liver, there was no objection to the others.

But Li Heng's eyes were extremely cold. He stared at Li Lin tightly. He must have known this person with the imperial edict. He did not report to him. He was worried about it. But before his anger disappeared, Li Longji's other appointment made the last trace of blood on his face disappear without a trace. He appointed Guo Xuji, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, as the governor of Yizhou and the deputy envoy of Jiannan Jiedu.

At this moment, Li Heng suddenly understood Li Linfu's intention and his father's thoughts. They colluded together today to put their own traps. In this way, Nanzhao's official position was considered a blow, and the Jiannan area where he had just gained the upper hand was immediately broken.

Li Heng seemed to step on the air, and his stomach began to tighten and he felt severely painful.

The whole court was silent, and only Guo Xuji's thanks and kowtows were heard. The princelings looked at each other, and they all looked depressed. The sudden change caught them off guard and could not think of a solution.

At this time, Li Linfu smiled and said, "Your Majesty, Mr. Guo's appointment as the governor of Yizhou and the deputy envoy of Jiannan Jiedushi is expected to be the result of everyone's desire, but the position of Sima in Yizhou is still vacant, and I recommend one person to take this position."

"It's okay to say the prime minister." This is a matter of trouble. Li Longji was confused and didn't know what Li Linfu was going to have.

Li Linfu looked at Prince Li Heng, and his smile became more and more sincere. "Li Qing, the prince's servant, was capable and capable. He was quite famous when he was the chief clerk in Yibin County. I talked to him and thought that he had a clear idea and was a rare talent. It would be a pity to be unemployed in the Eastern Palace. Therefore, I recommend him as Sima of Yizhou and let him go to the place to practice hard for a few years."

Sima in Yizhou was from the lower rank of the fifth rank, one level higher than the prince's servant. It seemed that Li Linfu cared about his juniors, but his true sinister intentions made the faces of several people in the hall change drastically. First of all, the prince Li Heng. Li Qing was the one he had high hopes and his reserve talent. But Li Linfu actually said that when did they talk? Why didn't Li Qing report to him and the Eastern Palace was unemployed, who did this mean? Is Li Linfu or Li Qing's own thoughts? Countless thoughts flew in his mind. He was originally a suspicious person, and at this time, Li Lin, who had a good friend with Li Qing, had already concealed him first. It was very likely that Li Qing and Li Lin betrayed him at the same time. Li Heng remained silent, and a murderous intention flashed in his cold eyes.

This is Li Linfu's cleverness in killing people with a knife, cleverly combining the matters of Li Qing and Li Lin, which makes people feel that this is the same thing. If Li Heng investigated afterwards, they were indeed with him last night. Even if Li Qing had a ten-mouthed mouth, he couldn't explain it clearly. What's more, he didn't have long been in the East Palace, and Li Heng did not really trust him. Li Lin was the prince of the county, and Li Heng might not dare to move, but Li Qing had no background and was also known for betrayal. Li Heng would not spare him.

The second person whose face changed drastically was Li Lin. Although he was a little slow, he was the person involved and understood that Li Qing's disaster had come. He secretly glanced at Li Heng. Seeing that he had no expression on his face, his eyes were cold, and he was secretly anxious for Li Qing, but he was unable to speak.

The third person who understands the trick is Li Longji. At that time, he left Li Qing in the East Palace on the night of the Yuan Dynasty, but he didn't want the prince to be suspicious. Now Li Linfu's recommendation undoubtedly pushed Li Qing to the forefront, making his plan to hide Li Qing failed. Li Longji was angry, but his face was not revealed at all, and he only played with the jade paperweight on the dragon table.

At this moment, a man flashed out of the court and shouted: "Your Majesty, I object to Li Xiangguo's recommendation."

Everyone looked at this person with a glance, and saw that he was thin and elegant. The person who spoke against him was Cui Qiao, the minister of Dali Temple. He was neither from the Ministry of Personnel nor Li Qing's boss, and he had nothing to do with this matter. If we had to investigate the relationship between the two, it was his daughter who was said to be quite close to Li Qing. The two had the possibility of a father-in-law and son-in-law, but this was a private matter. How could it be mentioned in the court? Besides, don't he know the consequences of opposing Li Linfu? Seeing that he was prominent, several important officials of the Cui family cast dissatisfaction eyes on him. If they offend Li Linfu, they might be implicated.

Cui Qiao was impulsive and objected, but now he had already realized that he was doing something so stupid, but now he could not retreat. The emperor looked at him, the prince looked at him, Li Linfu looked at him, the civil and military officials in the court were looking at him, and his underwear was soaked. Cui Qiao had no choice but to grit his teeth and said, "I think that although Li Qing, the prince's servant, was as capable as the prime minister said, he was promoted from the ninth rank chief clerk to the sixth rank clerk, which was already a great emperor's kindness. He was less than a month old and had no achievements. If he was promoted again, it would probably make other officials suspicious, which would not make the prime minister's wishes. Therefore, I think it would be safer to wait a few years for him to make a little progress and promote it!"

Li Linfu turned around and stared at him, with a smile on his face, but his eyes were obviously bad. He was about to refute, but at this moment, Li Longji spoke, "What Cui Aiqing said is very true. Li Qing, the prince's son, is still very experienced. I also think he is not enough to be the Sima of Yizhou and the Prime Minister Li Xiangguo, let this go!"
Chapter completed!