The moment he saw Xiao Yu, Li Chengqian suddenly felt that his eyes were in a trance, thinking that he had been dazzled... The former Song Guogong, who had neat appearance and excellent demeanor, had not been seen for more than a month, but his hair had become dry and his appearance had become dry.
He looked haggard and looked like an old man in the countryside.
He hurriedly took two steps forward, lifted up Xiao Yu who was bowing with both hands, looked up and down, and said in shock: "Song Guogong...why is this?"
Xiao Yu also had mixed feelings. This Nanliang royal family who had suffered the destruction of his country and family, and all kinds of humiliation, thought that his heart had been tempered to be extremely strong, but at this moment, he couldn't help but burst into tears, and the muddy tears rolled down.
, said sadly: "The old minister is incompetent and failed to convince the British Duke despite his Majesty's trust. Not only that, he was chased by rebels on the way back and had to travel thousands of miles and endure hardships all the way before he could return to Chang'an..."
Li Chengqian helped him sit down, sat beside him, and asked someone to serve him tea. He turned slightly sideways and asked about his trip with an inquiring expression.
Xiao Yu told the story in detail and was filled with emotion.
Li Chengqian was silent for a long time, then slowly asked: "Do you know who leaked the itinerary of Song Guogong and his party?"
Xiao Yu said: "It must be someone from the Tongguan army. I don't dare to guess who it is. The itinerary was decided by the old minister and General Li the day before, and was temporarily issued to the accompanying soldiers. When we traced it later, we found that someone was there that day.
They were spied upon at the time of handover. General Li's men were all elite members of the 'Hundred Cavalry', who were well versed in the art of spying on information, so the thieves did not dare to approach. However, the soldiers accompanying the veteran were less vigilant in this regard, so something was leaked."
If Li Ji sent people to investigate the itinerary of Xiao Yu and his party, and then revealed it to Guan Long, so that he could send dead soldiers to intercept and kill them along the way, then the meaning would be almost as if Li Ji declared his surrender to Guan Long, which would definitely affect the overall situation of Guanzhong.
.
Xiao Yu didn't dare to say that the influence was too great. If someone deliberately did it to make him suspect that Li Ji did it, and he believed it was true and influenced the prince, it would be troublesome...
Li Chengqian thought for a long time and was not sure who leaked Xiao Yu's itinerary and notified the rebels to arrange for dead soldiers to assassinate him.
Obviously, the traitor's intention was to assassinate Xiao Yu, who was presiding over the peace talks, thereby completely sabotaging the peace talks. However, hundreds of thousands of troops gathered in Tongguan. Although Li Ji was the commander, it was difficult for him to maintain tight control over the entire army. Not long ago, in
The attempted rebellion at Mengjindu proved that many people in the Eastern Expedition army had their own agendas. Although a number of them were killed and shocked with thunderous means, they may not be docile from then on.
Xiao Yu sat for a while, calming down. Seeing His Royal Highness the Crown Prince frowning in thought, he coughed dryly and asked, "Your Highness, why did you entrust the important task of presiding over the peace talks to the servant?"
Before Li Chengqian could reply, he added: "It's not that the old ministers are jealous of talents and are clinging to the peace talks. In fact, the peace talks are of great importance and cannot be ignored. Although Liu Shizhong is very capable, his status and qualifications are slightly insufficient, and it is not related to the peace talks.
It is difficult to deal with the Long side, and the disadvantage is obvious during negotiations. Please think twice, Your Highness."
Li Chengqian was helpless and explained: "It is not that Gu was determined to appoint Liu Shizhong to take charge of this matter. In fact, the civil officials in the East Palace almost unanimously recommended it, and Zhongshu Ling also acquiesced. It was not easy for Gu to refute the public opinion. However, Song Guogong returned safely this time.
It will take a few days to repair and recuperate, but I still need your help to make Liu Shizhonggu feel at ease."
Xiao Yu's face was gloomy.
Liu Ji is indeed a capable official, but he has always been in the supervisory system. He is a good hand in investigating cases and impeaching ministers, but how can he preside over such a peace negotiation that is crucial to the survival of the East Palace?
Moreover, according to His Highness, the civil servants of the East Palace organized an organized alliance to push Liu Ji to the throne. Even as a prince, it is impossible for him to refute the recommendations of most civil servants in one fell swoop. Especially at this critical moment of life and death, it is even more important for everyone to work together.
Stay united.
We can meet each other. With Liu Jie's connections and abilities, he is definitely not enough to win over so many civil servants. There must be Cen Wenwen behind this to add fuel to the fire... What on earth is this old ghost playing? Even if you want to quit in a hurry, choose a successor to help.
Fu, you can’t joke about the important matter of peace talks at this time!
He also understood what the prince meant. It is best for you to resolve the internal matters among your civil servants yourself. As long as you can clarify the truth internally, I will probably not object...
Xiao Yu immediately stood up and left.
Li Chengqian thought that his hard work was a great achievement and that he was on the verge of life and death, so he personally sent him to the door and watched him walking north surrounded by his servants.
That's not Xiao Yu's residence, but the temporary office of Zhongshu Province...
…
The birth of the three provinces and six ministries system is an absolutely epoch-making initiative.
"Prime Minister" first originated in the Spring and Autumn Period. In most periods, it was not a formal official name but the collective name of one or several top chief executives. In the Qin Dynasty, the official name of "Prime Minister" was "Prime Minister", who was responsible for managing daily administrative affairs and government affairs.
The center gradually shifted to the inner court, and the "prime minister" was below one person and above ten thousand people. In the Han Dynasty, a large number of famous prime ministers appeared, such as Xiao He, Cao Shen, etc., which made the power of the prime minister unprecedentedly expanded and almost omnipotent, which was basically the same as the imperial power.
were in a state of equality, which greatly restricted the imperial power.
To a certain extent, the expansion of the power of the prime minister has solved the shortcomings of "autocracy" well and prevented the situation of a foolish emperor ruining a country. However, for the emperor who "never leads the land but the king's ministers", he "
It is difficult to tolerate the weakening of the imperial power that can determine life or death with just one word.
But many times, it is difficult for the emperor, the "Lord of the World", to truly control the government, so it is inevitable that one prime minister will appear one after another with amazing talents...
Against this background, Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty Yang Jian, who usurped the foundation of the Northern Zhou Dynasty and unified the north and south to establish the Great Sui Dynasty, created the Three Lives and Six Ministries system, which divided the power originally vested in the prime minister into three parts. The three provinces divided labor and cooperated with each other.
and restrict each other.
This greatly enhanced the concentration of imperial power.
The Tang Dynasty inherited the Sui Dynasty system and further developed and improved the Three Lives and Six Ministries system. However, because His Majesty Li Er once served as the "Shang Shu Ling", the actual status of the Shangshu Province was higher. The three high-ranking officials are all prime ministers, but the head of the prime minister must be
He was given the official title of "Shang Shu Zuopushe"...
As the "highest decision-making body of the country", the Zhongshu Province's status is somewhat embarrassing.
…
Xiao Yu angrily came to the temporary office of Zhongshu Province. By chance, a young official walked out of the room. When he saw Xiao Yu, he was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly stepped forward and bowed to the ground: "I have met Song Guogong in this humble position."
Xiao Yu took a closer look and saw that it was Lu Dunxin from Zhongshushe...
This son can be regarded as his old son. His father, Lu Deming, was a great Confucian at that time. He once taught Empress Chen. After the fall of Nanchen, he returned to his hometown. Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty succeeded to the throne and conquered the imperial palace. After the establishment of the Tang Dynasty, he entered the Prince of Qin's Mansion and became the "
Li Chengqian, one of the "Eighteen Bachelors" and the "King of Zhongshan" when he was a full-time professor.
They can be regarded as a proper team member of the prince.
Xiao Yu calmed down his impatience, stroked his beard, said "hmm" calmly, and asked, "Is Zhongshu Ling here?"
Lu Dunxin said hurriedly: "I am at work. I would like to come in to inform you."
Xiao Yu nodded slightly.
Lu Dunxin hurriedly turned around and returned to the government office. After a moment, he turned around and said respectfully: "You are invited by Zhongshu Ling."
"Well," Xiao Yu responded, and did not enter the office immediately, but gave gentle instructions: "The current situation is difficult and people's hearts are impetuous, but it is when you have gone through hard work and finally see the real gold, you must be firm in your heart.
More importantly, we must strengthen our will and never follow the crowd and muddle along.”
This young man is not only an old friend, but also a young gentleman whom he values very much.
At present, the East Palace is experiencing ups and downs, and the situation is difficult, but because of this, those who can endure the current difficulties will surely be able to succeed one by one when the prince ascends the throne, and their rise to glory is just around the corner.
Lu Dunxin saluted him with a respectful attitude: "Thank you very much, Duke Guo of Song Dynasty for your teachings. I will keep them in my heart and will not dare or forget them."
"Okay, I'll go see Zhongshu Ling myself. You can go and do your work."
"Here."
After Lu Dunxin left, Xiao Yu took a deep breath in front of the government office door, suppressing the anger and impatience in his heart, and then pushed the door open and entered.
As one of the three provinces, it is the most powerful yamen in the center of the empire. There are countless officials in Zhongshu Province and they are busy with official duties. Even though the East Palace decree cannot even pass through Chang'an City, there are still a lot of official duties. Now it is forced to move to Neizhongmenli.
There were several tile houses and dozens of officials crowded into one place, and the noise was obvious.
But as Xiao Yu entered, all the officials immediately fell silent. Officials who had no urgent business at hand came forward to greet him respectfully.
Xiao Yu responded one by one, without stopping, and went straight to the innermost room on the left. There was a clerk waiting outside the door. When he saw Xiao Yu arriving, he bowed and saluted, and then opened the door: "Please
The Duke of Song Dynasty enters."
Xiao Yu didn't answer and walked into the house with a gloomy expression.
As soon as he entered the room and saw Cen Wenwen sitting at the desk, he said loudly: "Cen Wenwen, are you confused?!"
The rude volume spread in the small government office, dozens of people all changed their colors, and you could hear a pin drop.