In the main building of the Qin Government Affairs Office, Li Longji looked at Li Linfu, then at Li Shizhi who looked indifferent, and asked:
"You should already know about Youzhou, right?"
"Back to the saint, both the government and the public know about this. I think that although this battle is won, we must be virtuous and exercise power first, and this trend cannot be allowed to rise."
Li Shizhi folded his hands and saluted and said that he and Fang Youde had no enmity, but they had no friendship either. It was just that he couldn't understand this matter.
If the generals in the feudal town all disobey orders to fight against the Khitan today, and strive for merit tomorrow to fight against the Tubo.
If they win, it is their military merit, and if they lose, the country will protect them. What will happen to the world? What will happen to the country?
"Well, what do you think, Ge Nu?"
Li Longji nodded noncommittally, looked at Li Linfu and asked.
"We can recruit Fang Youde as the governor of Youzhou. He is familiar with the situation there and is more suitable."
Li Linfu said slowly, with a gentle and friendly tone.
Li Longji nodded slightly, with a satisfied look on his face. Obviously, Li Linfu's words were more in line with his wishes.
However, since Li Linfu could react so quickly, it is difficult to say whether this person had already thought through the matter at home.
If so, that's fine; if not, that's terrible.
"Back to the saint, Zhang Shougui worked diligently and loved the people in Youzhou, and the border defense was consolidated without any mistakes or omissions. If Fang Youde was the governor of Youzhou, how should Zhang Shougui deal with himself? Once this trend started, the generals under the governor of Youzhou, and the border town
Doesn’t everyone have to be inferior to superiors?”
Li Shizhi asked a question that was difficult for Li Linfu to answer. It was a serious crime for the prime minister to collude with the generals of Bianzhen. Many words should not be said too much.
"Now that the left prime minister is vacant, Wei Chen thinks that Zhang Shougui has enough qualifications and achievements to become the prime minister."
Li Linfu bowed and bowed deeply to Li Longji and said.
Li Shi was stunned. He never expected that Li Linfu would say this. Because Li Linfu is temporarily serving as both the left and right ministers, he should be the person who is most opposed to this.
The general approach is to give up the position of left prime minister to someone close to you.
Li Linfu's move of retreating into advancement will probably please Li Longji very much.
Li Shizhi came from a royal family, and although he was not without scheming, his experience in political struggles was obviously much less than that of Li Linfu. How could he have known about the plans of the right prime minister of the Tang Dynasty.
Zhang Shougui is indeed more difficult to deal with than Niu Xianke and is not so easily manipulated. Li Linfu certainly knows this. But fortunately, Zhang Shougui also has no foundation in the court!
From this point of view, he is not much better than Niu Xianke.
Moreover, Zhang Shougui came up as a general, so naturally he couldn't get along with the circle of civil servants around Zhang Jiuling. Such a person would not affect Li Linfu's governance, or he would definitely not be able to defeat Li Linfu.
The lesser of two evils, Li Linfu could feel it. This time Li Longji had an extremely strong urge to worship Zhang Shougui as prime minister, and the voice in the court for Zhang Shougui to be prime minister was also very high, at least far more than Niu Xianke.
If he insists on stopping him, it is another question whether he can stop him. Even if he does, it will easily arouse Li Longji's resentment.
Zhang Shougui could not become prime minister, and the arrogant generals in Youzhou could not be promoted. The whole trouble was placed on Li Longji's desk.
Li Linfu knew very well that the prime minister was here to solve the saint's troubles, not to throw the trouble to the saint.
Zhang Shougui’s appointment as prime minister is a foregone conclusion!
He lamented in his heart.
"In this case, Wei Chen has no objection."
Li Shizhi also bowed to Li Longji. For this reason, what else could he, a royal censor, do?
"Well, with this great victory and this year's autumn harvest going well, I plan to worship heaven and earth outside the city in three days. What do you think?"
Li Longji asked with a smile on his face, obviously in a good mood.
Worship heaven and earth?
Not to mention Li Shizhi, even Li Linfu was stunned. For a while, he couldn't guess what Li Longji was thinking.
Is it to build momentum for Fang Youde? It doesn't seem to be the case. It's not like there haven't been such great victories. There have been many times in the past ten years.
"This ceremony requires three people to go to the altar to offer sacrifices. I will be the one to present the first offering, and the second one will be King Zhong (Li Heng), and the last one will be presented by King Ying (Li Heng).
Yun, renamed Li Xuan) is ready.
I will send someone to inform the two of them that they must behave solemnly and make no mistakes."
Li Longji said lightly, Li Shizhi just nodded blankly and didn't know why, but Li Linfu felt a storm in his heart!
"Wei Chen resigns."
After the two left, Li Longji breathed a sigh of relief.
"Lux, do you think Genu saw anything?"
Li Longji glanced at Gao Lishi and asked in a lowered voice.
"Ge Nu should have noticed."
Gao Lishi thought for a while and then said: "But even if you see it, what can you do?"
"Yeah, even if you can see it, what can you do?"
Li Longji sighed with emotion.
…
Li Linfu hurriedly returned to his home in Pingkangfang from Xingqing Palace, and sent someone to find Zheng Shuqing. The two had a secret conversation in the newly built compartment.
"There are rumors that the truth supports King Shou, what do you think?"
Li Linfu looked into Zheng Shuqing's eyes and asked in a deep voice.
Isn't this obvious?
Zheng Shuqing cursed in his heart, but asked solemnly on his face: "The right minister wants to ask...what?"
"Don't worry, I'm just asking you why you think I want to support King Shou."
Li Linfu looked a little nervous, a little less calm than before.
"My subordinates believe that the only new prince supported by the saint is the loyal king. If the right prime minister also supports the loyal king, wouldn't it embarrass the saint? The saint just hopes that the right prime minister can restrain the prince and make a ruling in the middle."
Zheng Shuqing brought out Fang Chongyong's "theism" when he was chatting with him. He actually couldn't believe it, but Zheng Shuqing was very confident in Fang Chongyong's brain.
"Yes, Ben Xiang originally planned it this way. But Concubine Wu Hui's favor made Ben Xiang doubt whether he was wrong.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Only today did I know that the truth of what is bystander is truly irrefutable.”
Li Linfu couldn't help but sigh and told Zheng Shuqing about Li Longji's abnormality today.
What does this horse riding mean?
Zheng Shuqing didn't follow Li Linfu's train of thought at all. Fortunately, he was good at pretending and just kept nodding in agreement.
"King Ying actually had to offer sacrifices in the ceremony, which is not unceremonious. It is understandable that King Zhong would offer sacrifices. This is the saint showing his determination to establish a loyal king to the courtiers. The reason for letting King Ying participate in the sacrifices is to
what?"
Li Linfu asked in confusion, he still had not guessed what Li Longji was thinking deep in his heart.
Of course, King Ying may also just play the role of Yong Chi in "Pei Gong conferred Yong Chi", which is nothing more than a smoke bomb.
If any minister at this time thought that King Ying was a cold stove who could burn it and finally achieve the skill of following the dragon, he would be totally wrong.
"Could it be that King Ying has a secret that a saint cannot tell others, so the saint supports him and gives him the illusion that he can covet the position of prince?"
Zheng Shuqing told him a conjecture that Fang Chongyong told him two days ago, but only concealed the most critical point.
"Prince Ying secretly reported that the prince wanted to borrow two thousand pieces of armor to rebel, but he was only leading Pinglu Jiedushi from afar. Where could he have any armor that he could lend to the prince?
I originally thought that this was King Ying falsely accusing the prince, because King Ying has always been on good terms with Prince Zhong. But from what you said, it is more likely that the saint instructed King Ying to make the false accusation."
Li Linfu said with sadness.
He admitted that he was a very cold-hearted person, but compared to Li Longji, he seemed to be much worse.
At least when it comes to the marriage of his children, Li Linfu feels that he is very open-minded and allows his children to choose what they like. As long as they are not the children of political opponents, he generally will not go out of his way to stop them.
But according to Li Longji...this saint's heart is not as dark as usual.
This made Li Linfu feel an unprecedented pressure!
Nowadays, Li Longji seems to dote on the longevity king with everything, and he has the best food and clothing. However, who knows the truest thoughts in the heart of the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty?
At the very least, the longevity king Li Xuan has been excluded from the core of power.
"Are you sure about Sogdian Brocade?"
The smile returned to Li Linfu's face, and he asked Zheng Shuqing as if making a routine.
"Back to the Prime Minister, the problem shouldn't be big. Even if there is, it may not be obvious now."
Zheng Shuqing carefully replied that Li Linfu's attitude had relaxed, but he did not dare to relax.
"Do this with your heart. The funds in the Saint's Palace are always in short supply. Doing things with your heart will inevitably benefit you."
Li Linfu said with relief.
Zheng Shuqing said goodbye with a lot of gratitude and walked out of Li Linfu's house without wondering why the other party suddenly became sentimental.
…
Three days later, in order to celebrate the victory at Youzhou Border Pass, Li Longji led hundreds of officials out of Chang'an City and set up an altar in the eastern suburbs to offer sacrifices.
Li Longji's first contribution was as expected by everyone.
Yaxian is King Zhong, which is not too outrageous. After all, King Zhong has extraordinary strength behind the scenes.
But in the end, it was actually King Ying instead of King Shou, which shocked all the officials in the central government of Chang'an.
It is said that after the day of worshiping heaven, Concubine Wu Hui came to Xingqing Palace and cried to Li Longji. The two had a big quarrel in the Qinzhengfu Building. As for what the quarrel was about, no one knew. Anyway, the next day,
Concubine Wu Hui fell ill.
The day after the sacrifice in the eastern suburbs, Li Longji ordered Li Linfu to draft an edict.
Fang Youde, who had previously fought against the Khitans, was appointed as the governor of Youzhou. Zhang Shougui, the former governor of Youzhou, worshiped the prime minister and served as a minister. From now on, he will join the court as an official from Youzhou.
Niu Xianke was formally appointed as the Minister of Industry, and Huangfu Weiming was appointed as the Governor of Longyou.
At the same time, there was a major change of blood inside and outside the central court, including but not limited to Zheng Shuqing and his like serving as Minister of Household Affairs, Wei Jian and others serving as Jing Zhaoyin, Yan Ting and his like being demoted as governors and released to the outside world, and Li Shizhi serving as Shangshu of the Ministry of Justice.
As for the civil servants who came from the imperial examination background, as Zhang Jiuling lost power, most of them ended up similar to Yan Tingzhi, and were widely reprimanded and expelled by Li Longji. The composition of the central leadership also underwent fundamental changes.
It is not only the imperial center in Chang'an City that is undergoing a major change of blood. In the Youzhou vassal town to the north, personnel changes are also going on from top to bottom.
On this day, Zhang Shougui was ordered to leave Youzhou for Chang'an to become prime minister. Before leaving, Fang Youde, as the newly promoted governor of Youzhou, held a banquet to see Zhang Shougui off. The two of them exchanged glasses during the banquet, and it was very warm.
.
"Brother Fang Xian, this time I was able to enter Chang'an and serve as prime minister, it is really thanks to brother Xian's superb battle. Come on, let me toast you."
Zhang Shougui, who was blushing after drinking, picked up his wine glass and toasted Fang Youde.
"There are treacherous people like Li Linfu in the court, so brother it's better to be careful. As long as I'm here in Youzhou, everything will be fine."
Fang Youde slapped his chest and said confidently.
"Well, as a brother, I understand the abilities of my virtuous brother, but...my adopted sons An Lushan and Shi Siming are both talented people. It's okay if my virtuous brother doesn't want to see you. My brother has already transferred their military status to
In Pinglu County, my dear brothers are out of sight and out of mind, so there is no need to look for trouble with them."
Zhang Shougui said with sincerity.
Having said that, Fang Youde could only nod slightly and said, "Then just follow what brother said."
"Well, the two towns of Youzhou and Pinglu are actually one town. Only by exchanging news and troops can the situation in Youzhou be stabilized. Brother Xian's previous battle was just to keep Youzhou stable and stable for three years.
In Youzhou, the focus is on the defense zone, and we must not go deep into the north."
Zhang Shougui persuaded patiently.
"Brother, please rest assured, the Jiedushi envoy will only serve for four years. By then I will no longer be the Jiedushi envoy. How could there be such trouble?"
Fang Youde laughed loudly and said.
"That's true, but I worry too much."
Zhang Shougui also laughed loudly and clinked glasses with Fang Youde. After the two had finished drinking, Fang Youde put the other person on the carriage. He watched the carriage speeding along the official road. No shadow could be seen anymore, and then he returned to Youzhou City.
Jiedushi Shogunate.
Arriving at the study room dedicated to Jiedushi, he knelt down with a contented look on his face and took out the "kill list" from his arms.
"Now that I am the governor of Youzhou, I have to kill a few brats to establish my authority.
Should I go to Pinglu to find trouble and kill Anlushan, or should I kill a few fish and shrimps in this town first?
It’s really distressing.”
A sneer appeared on Fang Youde's face, and he decided not to touch An Lushan and Shi Siming for now. He would wait until he found an opportunity later.
"After I become the governor of Youzhou and Pinglu towns, none of you will be able to escape."
After that, he checked a few names on the "kill list" with a red pen.
"First kill two sacrificial flags to establish military power.
After I kill you all, I would like to see who can launch the Anshi Rebellion and destroy our prosperous Tang Dynasty."
Fang Youde didn't know why the Anshi Rebellion happened, but he knew very well that if the problem couldn't be solved, then the person who caused the problem would be solved, and the effect would be the same.
…
This morning, Fang Chongyong had just gotten up and was about to go to the West Market to check the prices in Chang'an. Then he was surprised to find that the door of his home was blocked. Outside the door, he could see endless bullock carts piled with various parcels and goods.
wooden box carton.
"Come on, let's ask what happened."
Fang Chongyong whispered in Fang Laique's ear.
After a while, Fang Laique came back again and proudly showed off to Fang Chongyong: "Alang is now the governor of Youzhou, and those people are here to give gifts."
"What did you say?"
Fang Chongyong was stunned, thinking he heard wrongly.