Chapter 558: The old minister also wants to give him advice; I just remind His Majesty, is it not too much?
Li Shimin would have never known that Emperor Fengdu was also the incarnation of Emperor Ziwei, if Wei Zheng hadn't spoken out at this moment.
"Why, Wei Xuancheng, the Great Emperor of Fengdu, doesn't dare to speak out and remonstrate with him?" Li Shimin is still very perceptive. He and Wei Zheng have been acquaintances for many years. No matter what Wei Zheng's purpose is in meeting this time, there is no need to play tricks. What kind of mind.
But looking at Wei Zheng's state, it seems that being on duty in the underworld is quite different from being in the human world.
Think about it, after all, yin and yang are separated, so there will inevitably be differences.
However, with Wei Zheng's ability, Li Shimin is not worried about him having any problems in the Underworld Division. Moreover, he is in charge of the Good Rewards Division, and the work he does is not offensive to anyone... nor does it violate his principles.
I dare not say anything else, but among the kingdoms that he personally sealed, his Duke Zheng's mansion was "poor"... He was the only one in the entire Tang Dynasty who could live in such poverty when he was the prime minister.
It was precisely Wei Zheng who had done it first, so he had a stand and had the confidence to remonstrate directly with him.
Don’t the other ministers know that what Wei Zheng said makes sense?
But each of them lived more comfortably than the emperor, so how could they have the face to suggest the word "frugal" to themselves?
They dared to advise Li Shimin on "frugality", and Li Shimin dared to send internal guards to raid their homes the next day... to see who should be "frugal".
But if Wei Zheng were to say this, he really had no temper at all.
It is also true that Li Shimin often gave Wei Zheng some practical advice and rewarded him accordingly. Firstly, it was to show the harmony between their monarch and his ministers, and secondly, it was to subsidize Wei Zheng's family... However, these rewards were all transferred to the Duke's Palace. In fact, Wei Zheng would not easily use the treasury if it was not necessary.
In the eyes of outsiders, this is the embodiment of Li Shimin's wise character.
After all, Wei Zheng's words are not nice to hear. If we talk about it in folk gossip, it is because the emperor often spends money to scold Prime Minister Wei...
Li Shimin also made this remark before, but he laughed it off, and even said bluntly at the court meeting: "If all of you, dear friends, can scold Wei Qing to his level, I will not hesitate to reward him."
But who were the ministers of the Zhenguan Dynasty?
If you pick anyone out at random, they are all wily and scheming people. Even the seemingly careless Cheng Yaojin... no one would regard him as an honest martial artist.
Everyone just listens, one person like Wei Zheng is enough.
Besides, others can't compare with him. Wei Zheng was an official appointed by Heaven, responsible for the communication between heaven and man... Slaying the dragon in his dream back then was the aspiration of civil servants in the world.
But since Wei Zheng's death, the newly appointed officer, Cao Guan, has not been found.
It is said that when a person achieves enlightenment, chickens and dogs ascend to heaven.
The same is true for the court, but with Wei Zheng's status, let alone his fellow clansmen, even his sons did not get any glory from him... Even when Wei Zheng was alive, he did not treat his sons They are very strict in discipline.
The young masters of other princes' palaces are all "high-profile" in Chang'an City, but the young masters of Zheng's prince's house... can hardly even leave the house for free.
On the contrary, it was after Wei Zheng's death that his sons gradually began to stand out without the suppression of their old father.
The eldest Wei Shuyu inherited the title of his father Zheng Guogong and officially entered the court as an official. Li Shimin also betrothed his daughter Princess Hengshan to him. This was to marry a daughter, not to recruit a son-in-law.
And Wei Shuyu did not live up to his expectations. Now he has reached the rank of Guanglu Shaoqing and is highly regarded.
The second and third children did not disgrace their father. In addition to their extremely beautiful calligraphy, the two brothers successively passed the imperial examination in high school. Although they were not the top scorers in the first class, they were among the top two.
Originally, Li Zhi wanted to keep them in the Six Divisions of Chang'an, but the two of them took the initiative to ask for help and wanted to go somewhere to experience... Li Zhi allowed them to do it, and made a note in his heart. They have accumulated enough experience in the local area, and when they return to the court, it will naturally be a different scene.
At the same time, I sighed in my heart, as expected of a tutor from the Duke of Zheng's mansion. Like the princes of Beppu, even some of the generals' disciples were unwilling to leave Chang'an City.
Li Shimin knew these things. Even if Wei Zheng was in the underworld, he would know more or less about the affairs of the earth, especially the affairs of his family, so he was not a stranger.
"Your Majesty, you don't know something." Wei Zheng said helplessly: "Although Emperor Fengdu has actual duties, he is only responsible for the first three thousand years. Emperor Ziwei sent his incarnation into the underworld to take over Emperor Fengdu, which is more on behalf of heaven to suppress the fate of the underworld... I don’t care about the affairs of the underworld. Those who are really responsible for the operation of the underworld are actually the Ten Palaces of Yama and us, the big and small judges, the black and white impermanence and the bull-headed and horse-faced underworld commanders."
"I also want to give him advice... However, since I entered the Yin Division, I met him once when I was appointed as the Grand Judge of the Division of Rewarding Good Deeds, and then..." Wei Zheng spread his hands and said helplessly: "I am Lian I can’t even hand in any memorials.”
Compared to Li Shimin who wanted to do everything himself, in Wei Zheng's view, Emperor Fengdu, the supreme ruler of the Yins, was a real hands-off shopkeeper.
But having been in the underworld for a long time, Wei Zheng can understand... After all, after this underworld, Emperor Fengdu really has nothing to do with him... Instead of "getting in the way" in the underworld, it would be better to practice in seclusion in his mansion.
"Hahaha——" Li Shimin couldn't help laughing when he heard Wei Zheng complaining to him, but soon his face straightened and he looked at Wei Zheng very seriously, "Ai Qing is not here to find someone. Let me reminisce about old times."
Wei Zheng also became serious. He had been a minister under Li Shimin for more than 20 years, and he thought he had some control over Li Shimin's temper... I'm afraid that in the years since Master Sanzang returned to the Tang Dynasty, he would have brought Master Sanzang with him. The changes coming will cause some misjudgments on your part.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! But it is not a big problem, he still has the ability to adapt to changes.
Moreover, he did not expect to persuade His Majesty to enter the underworld with just his words during this trip.
"The purpose of Wei Chen's coming here cannot be concealed from His Majesty." Wei Zheng has always said it bluntly, and today is no exception. "Wei Chen is here to persuade Your Majesty to enter the underworld and reincarnate in the underworld on behalf of the underworld."
"As expected of you." Li Shimin was not surprised at all by this. "It is true, but Xuancheng...since it is you who are here, you must also know what I am thinking."
"I know." Wei Zheng nodded, "But you have to come when you need to come, and you have to persuade when you need to... Just like in the past when I was still alive, I advised your majesty... Whether you listen to the advice or not is your majesty's business. Son."
"But you should know...I will obey your Wei Xuancheng's advice."
"That's all His Majesty's love."
"This is not something that can be said from your mouth." Li Shimin looked him up and down for a while, as if he wanted to see what he had experienced in the underworld, so that someone who could make him so stubborn actually said this to him Good things to say.
In fact, when Wei Zheng was alive, he said a lot of good things... But people are often like this. Li Shimin didn't remember a single word of those good words, but those direct admonitions that were almost "swearing", Li Shimin can even remember them intact to this day. Carry it out without moving.
As for why it is said to be almost "swearing", it is also because this Wei Prime Minister has a high level of literary attainments and the words used throughout the article are extremely elegant and there is not a single dirty word. But to Li Shimin's ears, it is like being accused. It feels as uncomfortable as scolding eight generations of ancestors.
The reason for this misunderstanding is naturally not that Wei Zheng is really "swearing", but that he feels really aggrieved, but he still has to admit that Wei Zheng's words are reasonable, and he has to listen to his advice...
And his usual way of calming his mind is: "Fortunately, I am a wise king, otherwise your old man Wei's head would have fallen off eight hundred times."
Now I suddenly heard Wei Zheng say nice things, but I felt a little uncomfortable.
People change, let alone someone like Wei Zheng who has experienced life and death?
"After all, I died once." Wei Zheng's eyes were still firm, but his face was no longer as stern as before. Perhaps it was because he was in the Department of Rewarding Good People, and all he saw was the goodness in the world. Inadvertently, It had already melted his heart, which was not particularly strong to begin with.
The more work the Good Rewards Division does, the more Wei Zheng feels it is sufficient, because this means that the people under the rule of the Tang Dynasty will become happier and more harmonious... Isn't this what their generation wants to see?
The difference is that he really saw it, and some of those "colleagues" were still suffering in the underworld, while some had already begun their next reincarnation, and some were specially recruited to heaven.
Just like Qin Qiong and Yuchi Gong, in addition to being named marshals by the Jade Emperor, they were also officially named "door gods" based on their human will. They can be regarded as gods.
Wei Zheng told Li Shimin some of his experiences in the underworld, especially looking through the archives. Compared with the chaos of the Southern and Northern Dynasties, the stability of the Tang Dynasty can be regarded as a great achievement.
"Stop it." Li Shimin waved his hands repeatedly. The more he heard these words, the more uncomfortable he became... Why is Wei Zheng still singing praises today?
What the hell is he doing?
It's better to "scold" yourself with a few words of pragmatism.
"Xuancheng!" Li Shimin did not get carried away because of Wei Zheng's praise. Instead, his expression became more serious and said: "I often say that I have three mirrors. I use copper as a mirror to correct my clothes and hats, and ancient times as a mirror to correct my clothes. When we see ups and downs, we can use human mirrors to know gains and losses... I always keep these three mirrors to prevent myself from making mistakes. And you, Xuancheng, are my human mirrors."
"I am terrified." Wei Zheng knew about this, "and I am honored to be a mirror for His Majesty."
"So, Xuancheng..." Li Shimin pointed to the village behind him, "Although I have lost sight of you since your death, whenever I have to make a decision, I always have to ask myself, what if Wei Zheng is here...what would he say?"
When Wei Zheng heard this, he fell silent immediately.
"Actually, if you think about it carefully, do I and the ministers in the dynasty really don't know what Aiqing says every day?"
"It's just that we deliberately hide it, or pretend not to know." Li Shimin's tall and straight posture seemed not to have been eroded by the years. He and Wei Zheng looked at each other.
"You must also know the situation in this village." Li Shimin pointed to the village behind him.
"I know." Wei Zheng nodded and said, "But I am a yin god and have nothing to do with the affairs of the yin world."
The implication is that he wants to take control.
And what Li Shimin wanted to ask first was obviously not this, but——
"This is just the tip of the iceberg, and it can be considered a better place. So with the vast territory of the Tang Dynasty, how many similar places are even worse than this place? So... Xuancheng had previously praised the great Are the words about the prosperous Tang Dynasty a bit exaggerated?"
However, Wei Zheng bowed solemnly to Li Shimin and said, "Your Majesty is wise and has not been blinded by superficial glitz. He can still truly see the world. I am very pleased."
Li Shimin:...
Well, you thick-browed Wei Xuancheng, were you testing me just now?
After being a Yin Shen for more than ten years, I have really gained a lot of skills.
call--
Fortunately I wasn't fooled.
That is to say, Wei Zheng put too much psychological pressure on Li Shimin. How can there be any reason in this world that an emperor would be nervous when meeting his ministers?
Even getting the real "approval" from Wei Zheng at this moment made Li Shimin feel a little happy and complacent in his heart.
But the next moment, Wei Zheng said very straightforwardly: "But your Majesty must not be complacent because of this. The way to govern the people must be devoted to teaching... You must not take it lightly, let alone achieve it overnight."
Without waiting for Li Shimin to refute, he continued: "I dare to ask Your Majesty, the reason why Your Majesty wants to stay in the human world and not enter reincarnation...is your original intention to conquer the three realms and unify the four continents?"
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Sure enough...this is the Wei Xuancheng that I am familiar with.
This was a question he couldn't get around. Since Wei Zheng asked it, he could only answer truthfully: "Yes."
Wei Zheng did not disappoint him and showed an expression that said, "Sure enough, I knew it."
In terms of "what a great success", Wei Zheng was very talkative when he was alive...but the effect was not obvious. This is why Wei Zheng believed that this was one of the few places where he could not persuade Li Shimin.
But after Wei Zheng's death, he realized that... His Majesty had actually listened to the advice.
No, after his death... the Turks, Goguryeo, Tubo and Uzbeg Kingdom, etc., have all been included in the territory of the Tang Dynasty. If it were not for the Baoxiang Kingdom, Chechi Kingdom, Wuji Kingdom and other countries further west in Xizhou, , are all on good terms with Master Sanzang, I am afraid that the Tang Dynasty’s cavalry has already arrived at the Tongtian River.
"If your majesty wants to stay in the world in order to unify the four continents, then I sincerely ask your majesty to enter reincarnation." Anyway, he is dead. Some words he needs to say carefully when he is alive, but now he can be more direct, "But The veteran thinks that Your Majesty seems to have more important things to do."
Li Shimin also nodded and said: "Yes, the people of the Tang Dynasty have not been able to live and work in peace and contentment for everyone, so what position do I have to start the war again?"
Wei Zheng took the initiative to look at Li Shimin and said with cupped hands: "Your Majesty, please stay in the human world and protect the people of the Tang Dynasty... As for your Majesty's death, the underworld has no generals and dare not send people to capture your Majesty's soul. Cui Pan has already gone to heaven. Emperor Ziwei asked for advice... Your Majesty needs to take precautions early."
Wei Zheng did come to persuade Li Shimin, but he only appeared to persuade Li Shimin to enter reincarnation. In fact, he came to persuade Li Shimin not to just think about fighting, but to think more about the people of the Tang Dynasty...
I just didn't expect that Li Shimin himself had realized this, and then he decisively betrayed Cui Pan's whereabouts... You, Cui Pan, were able to add twenty years to His Majesty's life back then. I just remind His Majesty that it's not too much. ?