Next, in addition to Li Linfu, some officials came into the government office one after another.
In addition to officials under Zhongshu Province, there were also officials from other agencies like Li Linfu who reported to him.
Among them are many officials who want to show their loyalty to Bai Gui.
But Bai Gui was not in a hurry to bring them all under his command.
Instead, we will give different responses one by one based on the person's identity, personality, ability, etc.
Either he refuses verbally, or he pretends to be a fool, or he pretends to be Gou Jian's embarrassment... In short, with Bai Gui gaining a foothold in the political hall, even if he is not the real prime minister, officials who want to surrender to him are extremely desperate.
many.
This office work lasted until the afternoon.
The young eunuch from Miyagi City came to the government office and gave Li Longji an oral order to let him enter the palace and play polo together.
This is the treatment you get as a close disciple of a saint.
As long as you go to work, you will get one small salary every three days and one large salary every five days.
Enter the palace.
Pavilion Hall.
Just like in the past, Bai Gui played polo enthusiastically with Li Longji, Jiang Jiao and other concubines, but Bai Gui still deliberately lost two polo balls to Li Longji.
Many failed.
Every time it is accurately controlled between two or three polo balls.
After a while, Li Longji also realized that this was Bai Gui's deliberate defeat.
Even though they are slightly scheming, ministers who know how to measure are undoubtedly favored by any emperor. A dull-minded emperor will find it difficult to see the subtle relationship, but a smart emperor will be happy and satisfied with it.
Jiang Jiao did not mention anything about Li Linfu.
The plan to make Li Linfu the imperial censor Zhongcheng took more than ten days or even more than a month to plan. Extending the time dimension of the plan made it even more seamless.
"Your Majesty, it's fun to ride horses and play ball in the Pavilion all day long, but it gets boring after a long time."
Concubine Wu Hui, who was dressed in a smart outfit, dismounted and curled her lips.
Although she has given birth to a prince, Concubine Wu Hui's beauty has not diminished as before. On the contrary, she has become even more outstanding, adding a mature and attractive temperament.
"Then my beloved...where do you want to go?"
Li Longji asked.
He still felt pity for Concubine Wu Hui.
All the concubines who gave birth to his prince would be promoted to concubines. However, because Concubine Wu Hui's surname was Wu, it had not been long before the anti-Martial sentiments of the courtiers subsided, and they would inevitably be harshly criticized by the courtiers, so this was delayed.
, but precisely because of this, he felt a little guilty towards Concubine Wu Hui, and his favor increased day by day.
“Now that most of autumn has passed, it’s time for autumn hunting.”
"Your Majesty, why don't we go hunting together in Lishan Mountain, and also go to Lishan Mountain to soak in the hot springs..."
Concubine Wu Hui suggested.
The cold spring brings bathing in Huaqing Pool, which is located in Lishan Mountain. Lishan Hot Spring has always been exclusive to the royal family of Li and Tang Dynasties. The emperor, prince, concubines, and courtiers all had special pools for bathing. At the same time, Lishan Hot Spring was also a hot spring in the Tang Dynasty.
Royal hunting grounds.
After saying this, Concubine Wu Hui glanced sideways at Jiang Jiao.
Although Jiang Jiao was Li Longji's favorite and rose through the ranks, he was regarded as a favored minister in the court. Therefore, even though he was a secretary supervisor and ranked third in rank, his status was not strong, so he frequently showed his favor to Concubine Wu Hui, Li Longji's favorite concubine.
Want to curry favor.
Therefore, when he saw Concubine Wu Hui gesturing towards him, Jiang Jiao hesitated for a moment and said: "Your Majesty, the empress is right. Now is the time for hunting in the autumn. Your Majesty has not been out of the palace for more than a month. Even if you go hunting in the autumn now, all the officials will not do it."
It is said that Your Majesty is restless and is delaying the government affairs."
Li Longji is a fun-loving person who has lived in the palace for a long time. How could he hold it back?
Jiang Jiao knew this, so Li Longji hesitated because he was worried about the criticism of the courtiers, thinking that he, the emperor, wanted to neglect the government, so he hesitated to make a decision.
"Jiang Qi is right. The ancient emperors searched for seedlings in spring and summer, hunted in autumn and winter, and went out to the suburbs at four times to show their strength to the world."
"Now the world is at peace, but the army must not be wasted because of this. My autumn hunt at Lishan is also a continuation of the old chapter of Lishan's martial arts lecture in the first year of Kaiyuan. This is in line with the needs of the times, and it is not my own desire."
Li Longji nodded slightly and casually found a reason.
This is the difference between an educated emperor and an uneducated emperor. If you want to have fun, you can find a serious reason.
"On the tenth day, there is a break for bathing. After two days, it will be ten days of bathing."
"Bai Qing, your shooting skills are unparalleled. Let's go with you this time..."
Seeing Bai Gui present, Li Longji also invited him.
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Bai Gui raised his head and glanced at Concubine Wu Hui, who was standing behind Li Longji, and secretly complained, but he could only choose to agree.
Since he left Chang'an and helped Empress Wang give birth to a prince, in the harem, as Empress Wang's first wife, Concubine Wu Hui could only keep a low profile and have no ability to cause him any more trouble.
After all, there is a king and queen involved in the harem.
It's just that... as Queen Wang's son grew up and became his legitimate son, the status of the previously established prince Li Ying gradually became more and more precarious. This was also one of the reasons why Li Linfu wanted to escape from the East Palace.
Therefore, another incident lurked in the court, that is, the deposed concubine Li Ying and the establishment of the legitimate son.
Therefore, the battles in the palace began to be dominated by the Queen Wang and Zhao Lifei (Li Ying's mother-in-law). The snipe and the clam were fighting each other, which freed up Concubine Wu Hui. In addition, Bai Gui was the Zhongshu Ling and was a close confidant of Li Longji.
, he was summoned to the palace at any time, and once he came and went, "old feelings rekindled".
But in the palace, there are many informants, and it is difficult for the two of them to meet. They can only use Lishan Qiu Shou as an excuse...
…
Two days later, there will be an autumn hunt in Lishan Mountain.
en route.
Bai Gui, dressed in military uniform, was in the front row of officials, riding a horse and riding slowly.
Chang'an is about twenty miles away from Lishan Mountain and can be reached in just half a day. There is also a palace built on Lishan Mountain.
"Xiang Bai, the princess has just been given grapes by the saint and asked you to taste them."
The little palace maid rode a horse, came around and said.
"Let the princess wait for a moment. I will go there later."
Bai Gui nodded.
After the little palace maid left, the officials behind him began to whisper.
The sound is so small that most people can't hear it.
The general idea is that he is very beautiful and blessed, and expresses envy. In his demeanor and behavior, he has more respect for him as the prime minister.
He has real achievements, unlike Jiang Jiao who is a lucky minister. Such a prime minister, who has the trust of the emperor and the admiration of the princess, is basically a roly-poly in the political arena.
Bai Gui nodded slightly after hearing this.
The reason why he was among the courtiers during the Autumn Hunting was, firstly, to establish a good relationship with the officials and not leave the court, and secondly, to take this opportunity to observe the words and deeds of the officials in detail, so as to know them well.
Of course, it's also because his status is different now.
In the past, it was feasible for him to be a close minister of the emperor and a member of the royal family, staying in the dragon chariot or going to the princess's phoenix chariot. Now that he is the prime minister and the leader of hundreds of officials, he can always stay in the princess's phoenix chariot.
, it’s a bit out of place.
He clamped the horse's belly and rode forward. After a while, he arrived at Princess Jinxian's phoenix chariot.
When the curtain was lifted, it was discovered that the person sitting in the phoenix chariot was not Princess Jinxian, but Concubine Wu Hui.
"Sister Jinxian went to sister Yuzhen's place."
"Xiang Bai, come in, I will feed you grapes..."
Concubine Wu Hui smiled.
She pointed to the low table on the chariot, on which were placed several bunches of fruitful purple grapes from the Western Regions and a jug of wine.
Bai Gui frowned and walked in.
Lower the curtain.
He had already noticed the maids serving next to the phoenix chariot before he met Concubine Wu Hui. These were Concubine Wu Hui's confidants.
Since the last time at Linyi Houfu, Princess Jinxian bumped into Concubine Wu Hui giving gifts, and Concubine Wu Hui gave birth to a prince...,
Princess Jinxian, Bai Gui and Concubine Wu Hui began to cooperate secretly and exchange interests.
However, if Princess Jinxian and Bai Gui were friends with the concubines in the harem, they would definitely be friends with more than just Concubine Wu Hui. The two of them had maintained certain relationships with several concubines in the harem.
Concubine Wu Hui's reputation, or the reputation of other concubines, is not so great.
After eating the grapes.
Negotiable matters.
Half an hour later, Bai Gui got off the chariot and prepared to leave.
"If you were smart..."
"Just listen to the truth!"
Bai Gui wiped the grape juice from the corner of his mouth with a silk cloth. The grapes from the Western Regions are sweet and have endless aftertaste. He put down the silk cloth and said in a deep voice: "I have been practicing Taoism for many years. I can still see the outline of the saint's body, unless something unexpected happens."
, otherwise it would still be possible for the saint to die, so now we re-establish the East Palace... I advise you not to fight..."
"If you want to fight, even if you have true help, but for Queen Wang, the legitimate son is better than anything else. I am weak in the court and cannot provide you with much help. It is unlikely that you will succeed in your fight."
"Even if the fight succeeds, you also know the fate of Liu Zhi, the crown prince of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty..."
He took a deep look at Concubine Wu Hui and said.
As expected, Concubine Wu Hui also had the idea of getting involved in the Prince's East Palace.
Although they are somewhat overestimating their abilities, for the concubines in the harem, the biggest goals in life are two, one is to compete for favor, and the other is to let their son compete for favor and become the prince. It is normal to have this idea.
Anyone faced with the position of the Ninth Five-Year Master can't help but be tempted.
"I will remember Prime Minister Bai's words."
Concubine Wu Hui was not an ignorant person. When she heard what Bai Gui said, she also wiped out any luck in her heart.
Being a prince under an old emperor is not a pleasant experience. Maybe the prince will not survive the emperor. Liu Ju, the prince of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, was so feared by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty Liu Che that he was forced to rebel and committed suicide.
"But...what is Xiang Bai's purpose?"
"I am very curious about Bai Xiang, what is your purpose?"
Concubine Wu Hui's beautiful eyes flashed, she inserted her hairpin at an angle, sipped the lipstick she carried with her to add to her beauty, and she asked smoothly.
She didn't believe that Bai Gui was a loyal minister, as he usually behaved.
If he were a loyal minister or a direct minister, it would be impossible for him to have such a deep relationship with the concubines in the harem!
"What does Wu Jieyu think?"
Bai Gui asked back.
He knelt down and stood up, with a calm expression, opened the curtain of the phoenix chariot and looked at the scenery along the way.
"I don't understand!"
"If Prime Minister Bai is ambitious, with his talent and military exploits, it would be possible to start a new country after destroying Tubo. But Prime Minister Bai returned to Chang'an..."
Concubine Wu Hui smiled.
This is one of the reasons why Li Longji trusts Bai Gui so much.
If Bai Gui is really ambitious, he can rebel when he leads his troops to go to war. Even if he cannot win the country, he can still cede territory and become king for a while.
"The soldiers and horses attacking Tubo are not private soldiers. Even if they rebel, the people of the world will still care about Li Tang. It is not advisable to bring trouble to a country!"
Bai Gui shook his head.
It is not easy to rebel when leading troops on an expedition. Of course, there are ways to overcome this difficulty. However, the cost of doing so is too high. Similarly, Li Tang has not yet gone against the grain. On the contrary, Li Tang has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people for a hundred years.
Therefore, if you do this, your troops will be dissatisfied immediately, and the price/performance ratio is too low.
