In the Zhongshu Provincial Government Office, many officials kept silent at the same time and pricked up their ears to listen to the movements in the duty room.
They are all in the officialdom, and every change of power in the court and the turmoil of evidence are related to their own interests, so they are always very concerned. Naturally, they know that their parents support Liu Ji to take over the peace talks, and they also know that the interests of Song Guogong are involved.
There will inevitably be a collision...
In the duty room, facing the stern and stern Xiao Yu, Cen Wenwen looked as usual, waved his hand, told the clerk to exit, and closed the door at the same time, blocking the inquiring eyes of the officials outside.
Cen Wenwen looked Xiao Yu up and down and said in surprise: "Why is Brother Shi Wen so haggard?"
The age difference between the two is nearly twenty years, and Xiao Yu is the elder. However, because he has been well-dressed and well-fed since he was a child, and he knows how to maintain good health, he is nearly seventy years old, but has a childish face and always has good energy. On the contrary, it is the younger Cen.
Wen Wen is in frail health. He is only in his fifties, but he seems to be dying. Last winter, he almost ran out of oil and died...
The Xiao Yu in front of him had no charm as before, his face was withered and his expression was withered. If he wasn't full of energy at this moment of rage, he would have given people the feeling that he was about to die soon.
Obviously this trip to Tongguan was extremely unsatisfactory...
Xiao Yu sat across from him, trying his best to suppress the anger in his heart, maintaining a gentlemanly manner and preventing himself from being too rude. He said expressionlessly: "Everything in the world cannot always go according to the wishes of the people. It is full of all kinds of accidents. Foreign enemies
Whether I was assassinated along the way or stabbed in the back secretly, I am still sitting here alive, which is considered a blessing."
Cen Wenwen sighed and said: "Although I don't know what brother Shiwen's situation is now, and he is so haggard, but we assist the prince and face a crisis. We should be loyal to him wholeheartedly and serve even if we die. We don't care about life and death, let alone just fame and fortune? The empire's country
Dejected, we still have a long way to go."
"Hey!"
Xiao Yu could hardly suppress his anger. He snorted angrily and glared: "So, you are going to join forces with Liu Qiu to draw fire from the bottom of the cauldron and kick me out of the court?"
Cen Wenwen shook his head repeatedly and said: "How can this be so? Brother Shi Wen is the mainstay of the East Palace and the arm of the prince. He really doesn't think twice about the importance of the East Palace. Besides, if you and I get to know each other, how can we cooperate with each other?
How could you commit such an unkind and unjust act? It's just that the current situation is critical, and the East Palace is also full of turbulence and clouds. You can't always stand on the tide, you should be patient and dormant."
"hehe!"
Xiao Yu laughed angrily: "Should I still be grateful to you?"
Cen Wenwen held the pot and poured tea for Xiao Yu, with a sincere tone: "In the eyes of Brother Shi Wen, am I someone who loves power and has no shame?"
Xiao Yu snorted and said, "I wasn't before, but maybe I'm blind."
Cen Wenwen said with a wry smile: "Although I am younger than Brother Shiwen, my health is much worse. I have been on the sickbed for the past few years, and I feel that my time is running out. When my life's ambitions are all gone, how can I care about those fame and fortune?"
The only thing I worry about in my heart is to preserve the vitality of the civil service line before completely retiring, that's all."
When an official becomes an official, it does not mean that he is completely separated from the officialdom and no longer has anything to do with it. His nephews, disciples, and subordinates will all be taken care of by his own system. When those nephews, disciples, and subordinates all rise to the top and have a solid foundation, they will in turn take care of the system.
Someone else's nephew, disciple, subordinate...
Officialdom, to put it bluntly, is an inheritance of interests. Factions are connected to each other and continue to prosper, and everyone can benefit from it.
Therefore, Cen Wenwen knew that he was about to retire and pushed Liu Jie to inherit his mantle. There was nothing wrong with it. Even if it affected Xiao Yu's interests, it was within the rules.
You can't entrust your nephew, disciple, and subordinates who have been with you for many years to Xiao Yu, right?
Even if he is willing, Xiao Yu will not accept it; even if he accepts it, he may not treat him sincerely. After taking advantage of all the benefits, he may be thrown out as cannon fodder with just a touch of his mouth...
Xiao Yu was silent for a while, and the anger in his heart gradually dissipated.
In a different place, he would make the same choice as Cen Wenwen. In the final analysis, "If you don't do it for yourself, heaven will destroy you"...
Xiao Yu sighed, took a sip of tea, and lost his previous aggressive attitude. He said in a deep voice: "It's not that I hold on to the power and won't let it go. In fact, the peace talks are very important. If the peace talks cannot be promoted, the East Palace may fall at any time."
Yu, we are following His Highness the Crown Prince to fight to the death at Guanlong. When the skin is gone, how will the general be able to attach himself to him? Liu Ji can be an official, but he cannot do things. If we entrust him with the important task of peace talks, there is little hope of success."
Cen Wenwen frowned: "Why do you see that?"
There were two reasons why he chose Liu Ji.
For one thing, Liu Ji was a censor. He had a strong temperament and was able to improve the general's position. He had outstanding talents. As long as the East Palace survives the current crisis and the prince ascends the throne, he will surely launch a new policy and reform the old affairs. Practical men like Liu Ji will definitely lead the army.
In government affairs, the real power lies. Only by recommending him can you get rich rewards.
Furthermore, in his early years, Liu Ji served Xiao Xian as a minister of Huangmen, and later led his army to attack Lingbiao in the south and captured more than fifty cities. In the fourth year of Wude, Xiao Xian was defeated. Liu Ji, who was still in Lingnan at this time, offered his services.
Biao returned to the Tang Dynasty and was awarded the title of Governor of Nankang Prefecture. Although Xiao Yu never sought a position in the Xiao Ming Dynasty, they were both from the Nanliang royal family and had the same blood. They had many contacts with each other, but they did not stand on the side of Xiao Yu.
Mill one side.
In this way, Xiao Yu and Liu Jie have a close relationship and are very close to each other. If they recommend him to take over their position, Xiao Yu's resistance will probably be smaller.
Unexpectedly, Xiao Yu was so furious and bluntly said that Liu Jie could not take on the important task of peace talks...
Xiao Yu said: "Although Liu Ji is a strong person, he is not upright and his ideas are quite right. He and Fang Jun sometimes get along, and they have deep entanglements with each other, and Fang Jun has a great influence on him. At present, Fang Jun
Jun is the leader of the main war faction, and his determination is even stronger than that of Li Jing. Once Fang Jun and Liu Jie communicate in private and explain the pros and cons, it is difficult to say that Liu Jie will not be affected by it and compromise."
Cen Wenwen felt a little bit confused: "No way?"
He believed in Xiao Yu. Since the other party dared to say that, he must be sure of it. But he recommended Liu Jie to him in the first place. Could he slap himself in the face when he turned around?
That would be so embarrassing...
Xiao Yu solemnly said: "Be careful with the ten thousand year ship. The peace talks are too important to us and to the East Palace. We must not let Fang Jun's son interfere with it! That guy has no political talent. He only knows how to be brave and ruthless. Even if he fights
So what if he wins Guanlong? Li Ji and Chen Bing are eyeing Tongguan. The outside world knows nothing about what they are planning in their hearts. How can they put all their hopes on Li Ji's loyalty? Besides, Li Ji is loyal, but who will end up in the end?
, who knows?”
Cen Wenwen pondered for a long time before slowly nodding, finally agreeing with Xiao Yu's statement.
I made a bad move, but I didn't expect that the entanglement between Fang Jun and Liu Jie was so deep that even Xiao Yu felt deeply afraid and out of control. He couldn't tell it at all...
Now that the two of them have reached an agreement, it will be easier to handle.
Cen Wenwen said: "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has issued an order, leaving Liu Ji in charge of the peace talks. This matter cannot be changed. However, Brother Shi Wen will still participate in the peace talks. When the time comes, you and I will join forces to sideline him."
With his foundation and Xiao Yu's prestige, the two parties merged into one, almost reaching the pinnacle of the Guanlong system. It was easy to oust Liu Jie.
Xiao Yu finally took a breath and nodded: "I'm very relieved that you can say that. For the sake of the East Palace, and for our civil service system not to be suppressed by the military, you and I must work together, otherwise no matter what the situation is in the future, we will be I regret it."
If the East Palace falls, these officials who follow the prince will definitely be punished by Guan Long. Even if they don't go too deep into the matter on the surface, and even the new emperor will show generosity and pardon some crimes, in the end they will inevitably be suppressed and suppressed.
The East Palace survived the desperate situation, defeated the rebels in one fell swoop, and the prince successfully ascended the throne. The military took the greatest credit. With Li Jing's qualifications and Fang Jun being favored by the prince, the military will completely control the court's say. Civil servants can only cling to their tails and suffer repression...
This kind of situation is something the two of them absolutely don't want to see.
Not only did they want to keep the East Palace, but they also had to make their achievements surpass those of the military on the basis of promoting peace talks. In the future, they had to firmly control the government and suppress the military with all their strength... The difficulty was not ordinary, so it was definitely difficult for Liu Jie to be qualified.
Cen Wenwen said: "Let Liu Ji take the lead now. If he is really influenced by Fang Junzhi and has ulterior motives in the peace talks, we will completely exclude him."