Chapter Two Thousand and Forty-Three: No Advance, No Retreat
The imperial driver was moving slowly, the carriages and horses were rattling, and the rain was falling.
Although the people in Chang'an City were sealed in the inner square and could not leave the city to meet him, the people outside Chang'an City and surrounding areas had also received the news of His Majesty's return to the capital. They rushed over with their families and stood on the roadside to take a look.
In this way, they showed their respect and love for the Emperor of Tang Dynasty.
Many old men with white beards and hair even knelt in the mud, letting their children and grandchildren stand behind them with umbrellas to block the rain. They cried until they had tears and runny noses, and babbled about what they had heard about His Majesty's death.
Sadness and despair, as well as the ecstasy and relief of knowing that His Majesty has "come back to life".
Under such circumstances, even though His Majesty Li Er was full of depression and bad temper, he had to change his clothes and stand in the car, constantly raising his hands to signal to the people gathered around him.
Feeling the sincere support and loyalty of the people, His Majesty Li Er slowly relieved his annoyance, and a smile gradually appeared on his square face. However, when he saw the prince abandoning his horse and walking in the mud, one by one he would kneel down.
When Lao helped him up, his smile suddenly stopped.
It stands to reason that this is a very good thing for the prince to do. The emperor is aloof and accepts the admiration and support of all the people. No matter how much he loves the people, he must also pay attention to maintaining a mysterious and arrogant temperament to draw a clear line between him and the people. After all, he is the son of God and the supreme being on earth.
.
The prince represents the king's courtesy and corporal. Whenever he lifts up an old man, pats the shoulder and sends a word of gratitude and condolences, or promises that the court will continue to maintain clean governance, diligent administration and love for the people, he will receive a round of cheers. The royal family
Prestige rises.
But His Majesty Li Er just looked unhappy, and the anger in his chest that had subsided a little rose again.
Why should you harvest the reputation that I have built up by working hard and caring for the people for more than ten years in vain? Is it because you are so disappointed that I am not dead, and you can't wait to seize power with only a small team?
…
Li Chengqian was walking in the mud, his clothes were soaked, and his boots were filled with mud. He limped forward, and from time to time he would lift up the old man who was kneeling on the ground and praised his father's merits.
He smiled like a spring breeze and spoke softly to comfort him, but he always felt a sharp gaze coming from above Yu Jia, making him feel like a ray of light on his back, making him feel uneasy.
He didn't want to be so showy in front of his father, but what could he do?
The emperor's heart is as strong as stone and will never be given up easily. At present, the Eastern Palace has a deep foundation and the military power it controls is powerful. Even a man as wise and powerful as his father cannot forcefully depose him. If it is dangerous, there is no feasible strategy.
It is to find his mistakes, and then launch criticism and guide public opinion, so that Yi Chu can be justified.
So at this moment, he knew that doing so would steal his father's limelight, but he had to execute it meticulously. After all, he was the prince of the dynasty, and he also shouldered the power of supervising the country. Since his father was firmly sitting on the throne, then
He could only express his gratitude to the people in person and show the royal family's love for the people.
On the other hand, if you shrink your head and don't show your face, it would be a great disgrace...
A gray-haired old man was helped up by him. He thanked him with a few gentle words and told his children and grandchildren behind him to help him go home quickly. At such an age, he could be called "auspicious" and he did not dare to get exposed to the rain and get sick. If he had a meal because of this,
, he, the prince, must feel guilty.
The old man held His Highness the Prince's hand tremblingly, and opened his toothless lips: "Your Highness's kindness and kindness will not make the ancient saints more beautiful than before, which is actually a blessing for the people of the Tang Dynasty. It will be determined in the future."
He is a wise master of the generation, but he is only a little inferior to His Majesty."
Li Chengqian pulled the corners of his mouth and smiled uglier than crying: "Without virtue and incompetence, how can I dare to compare with the ancient sages? As for my father, he is a flying dragon in the sky, and I am nothing more than a springtail in the grass."
You old guy seems to have read a book, but are you praising me or trying to kill me?
The old man seemed to be very emotional and full of feelings. He pulled Li Chengqian to praise him a few more times. Fortunately, the children and grandchildren behind him still had some experience and knew that when the sage was in power, the prince should hide his capabilities and bide his time. The prince was praised as a flower by the people.
It's not a good thing... I quickly helped and dragged him away.
Li Chengqian wiped the rain off his face, took a long breath, looked up at his father's chariot, and felt sour in his heart.
Everyone in the world envies him for being the eldest son and for being the heir apparent without any twists and turns. But who knows that he really doesn't care about this position? It's a pity that after reaching the top, there is an abyss behind him. He knows that the future is full of thorns.
But if you take even half a step back, you will be shattered into pieces.
A dilemma, a dilemma of choice.
only the guy drinking water knows it's cold or hot……
The emperor slowly advanced towards Chunming Gate in the drizzle. Three miles away from the city gate, there was Zongzheng Temple. Officials from the Ministry of Rites came out from the city to meet him.
His Majesty Li Er ordered the imperial commander to suspend his duties in the middle of the official road. He wanted to discuss the matter of entering the city with the officials of Zongzheng Temple and the Ministry of Rites. As the emperor's imperial commander, he returned from the expedition in person, and he was indispensable for the discussions such as worshiping ancestors and heaven. When Li Yuanjia, the king of Zongzhenghan and Yiyi
When a new official boarded the imperial chariot, His Majesty Li Er was in a daze...
The official bowed his head to the ground and said: "Wei Chen, Minister of Rites, Zhou Gang, has an audience with Your Majesty."
His Majesty Li Er looked up and down several times, and just vaguely remembered that there was such a person in the Ministry of Rites. It seemed that he had just been promoted last year and had not even participated in a few court meetings...
His face sank and his tone was very unhappy: "Who is in charge of the Ministry of Rites now?"
Even if you are sick and bedridden, shouldn't you come to greet him despite your illness? After the prince wins the battle, only one or two people think that the world belongs to him, and there is no king in their eyes anymore?
This is simply unreasonable!
Zhou Gang was covered in cold sweat and glanced at His Royal Highness the King of Han next to him, hoping that the other party could change his words for him. After all, the pressure to face His Majesty was too great... But the other party kept his eyes and noses, nose and heart silent, so he could only curse in his heart.
With a loud voice, he gritted his teeth and said cautiously: "Your Majesty clearly knows that the prince of Hejian County has two positions. When the cannibals invaded the Western Regions, he rushed to Jiaohe City to take charge and entrusted Duke Pengcheng to handle the ministry affairs on his behalf. However, since the Guanlong family raised troops
In the beginning, Duke Pengcheng only visited the government offices every now and then. When the rebels broke through the imperial city and all the government offices were almost razed to the ground, Duke Pengcheng was never seen again... The ministers were incompetent and the superiors were not around.
I can only shamelessly come to greet His Majesty on behalf of my colleagues."
The Minister of Rites was Li Xiaogong, and the other post of Governor of Anxi was only part-time. Unexpectedly, during the Eastern Expedition, the cannibals invaded. The Anxi army was leaderless, and the Guanlong clan was ready to make moves in the Western Region. The prince could only pat down those who could calm him down.
Li Xiaogong went to lead the army, and the former Minister of Rites, Pengcheng Gonglinghu Defen, temporarily took charge of the ministry.
Later, Guanlong launched an army, and Linghu Defen served as a key figure in Guanlong to assist Changsun Wuji in advising military aircraft. Naturally, the Yamen of the Ministry of Rites had no time to go there...
When the rebels broke through the imperial city, the Sixth Army of the East Palace fought and retreated. As a result, the entire imperial city was almost reduced to scorched earth. Many central government offices, including the Yamen of the Ministry of Rites, were destroyed in the war. The officials in the ministry simply went back to their homes and closed their doors.
Can't get out... Now that the rebels have been defeated, Chang'an has returned to the control of the East Palace. However, the ruined Yamen cannot be built for a while, and the officials of the Ministry still have not gathered.
Suddenly His Majesty returned to Beijing, and all the required ceremonies had to be organized and prepared by the Ministry of Etiquette. The officials hurriedly gathered together, only to find that the ceremonial guards and other items were either damaged or lost, and they could not prepare for the welcoming ceremony at all...
But we can’t just ignore His Majesty because of this, right? At the critical moment, Zhou Gang, as the highest-ranking official of the current Yamen of the Ministry of Rites, was pushed out...
His Majesty Li Er frowned and his face was as heavy as water.
He naturally knew that Chang'an City had been severely damaged by the war, and even the Taiji Palace had been used as a battlefield to undergo fierce killings, but he did not expect that even the central government offices such as the Ministry of Rites had become the "dogs of the five families" and even the government offices were gone... It can be seen from this that
, the extent of damage in Chang'an is far beyond what can be described by the dry "imperial city was damaged, and many buildings collapsed" in the intelligence report, and the tragedy of this rebellion is far beyond imagination.
Fighting back hard in a desperate situation, fighting for every inch of ground, leaving corpses everywhere, and finally being able to reverse and win under the siege of an enemy ten times stronger than himself... Even if he no longer wanted to admit it, he had to sigh that the prince did something really great this time.
Although Fang Jun and Li Jing were the greatest contributors to the victory, the overthrow was about to be overthrown by civil servants who were already working hard, and there were still military generals who risked their lives to fight. Wouldn't it further highlight the excellence of the prince?
It's a pity. If the prince could show such qualities in his early years, how could he have the desire to store things easily?
Now, the prince is full of wings, directly threatening his authority as the emperor, making him unable to retreat even if he wants to...
If there were another emperor, he might be able to be broad-minded, reconcile father and son, and wait for a smooth succession in the future. But His Majesty Li Er relied on the "Xuanwumen Incident" to kill his brother and brother, and forced his father to abdicate before he could take the throne.
The emperor, who has never been more alert to such situations, dares to allow the prince to grow stronger and eventually follow the example of the "Xuanwu Gate Incident"?
The arrow is already on the string and must be fired.
However, even though His Majesty Li Er is as stone-hearted at this moment, he still has to lament the Crown Prince's unlucky fate. At first, he was reluctant to transfer because the Crown Prince was weak and did not have the appearance of a wise ruler. Now he still wants to be transferred to the Crown Prince, but it is because the Crown Prince performed too well.
, the wings are too full...
Father and son are the same, they both advance and never retreat.
…
Although His Majesty Li Er is dissatisfied, he is not angry with the same minister. Moreover, objective reasons do exist, and this is not a problem of any one person.
After thinking about it, he said in a deep voice: "I will return to Taiji Palace tonight. As for the ceremony, I will keep it simple. I will give the Ministry of Rites three days to prepare it."
Zhou Gang complained in his heart. Now the Ministry of Rites is almost broke and has nothing. How can it prepare multiple ceremonies in just three days?
But it seems that officials of his level are under too much pressure when facing His Majesty Li Er, and they dare not disobey him in the slightest. They can only nod their heads and agree: "Wei Chen will lead the Ministry of Rites to overcome all difficulties and do our best."
His Majesty Li Er ignored the cleverness in his words and turned to look at Li Yuanjia, who had been silent...