The New Year is coming soon, and I don’t know what Li Shimin was thinking this year. He actually gave the annual leave early for the first time. In the twelfth lunar month, except for the main officials of the three provinces and six ministries, such as ministers, ministers, etc., the rest of the officials no longer have to go to court.
Or you can do your own thing every day, no longer have to wait and waste time in the check-in room, and can go home early.
This series of actions did have some effects. The officials thought of Li Shimin's kindness and gradually stopped gossiping about King Qi's affairs behind his back. Public opinion gradually subsided and everything became calm again.
But Li Shimin was not worried at all. After Li Chengqian led the army back, he seemed to have grown hairy in his heart. He hid in the East Palace and planned, hoping to go out again after the year. He said that he would join Li Ji's army, even if he was a pawn.
.Fortunately, these words did not spread out of the palace, otherwise it would have triggered a wave of public opinion among the people.
Also, the accounts of the Ministry of Accounts were collected at the end of the year, and the data came out one after another. The accounts involving the Ministry of Internal Affairs actually accounted for one-third of the input of the Ministry of Accounts. And this was without affecting the income of the Ministry of Accounts, that is to say,
With the Ministry of Internal Affairs this year, Datang's income has increased by one-third.
What a huge sum of money!
The Ministry of Internal Affairs was founded by Li Mu, and the officials who served in it were all trained by Li Mu. After hearing that these people, on the first day of the holiday, they all went to Luoyang to pay respects to Li Mu. How could Li Shimin not feel disgusted?
At such a young age, Li Mu has such great influence and has the tendency to form his own sect. If he waits a hundred years, will there be anyone in the court who can restrict him?
Even if Changsun Wuji was still alive at the time, Li Shimin could not guarantee which side they would lean towards based on Li Chengqian and Li Tai's attitudes towards Li Mu.
There is also the matter of Jisitang. Now that Mrs. Lu has not expressed her position, Li Shimin has lost the opportunity to take action. Although he knows that he is in Luoyang now, there is no way that Li Shimin will mobilize troops to turn against Li Mu. If he does this, it is equivalent to
If you are forced to rebel against him, things will become very serious. That can really affect the whole body.
Today, the Western Turks have reconciled with the Tang Dynasty because of Li Mu's relationship. King Gaochang only has one daughter, who is married to Li Mu. Dingxiang is the gateway to the Silk Road, and is also in charge of Li Mu's adopted brother. If Li Mu is attacked, the country will be in danger.
There will be chaos in the northwest of Tang Dynasty.
There is also Li Mu's adoptive father Li Ji in the north. Although Li Shimin expected that given Li Ji's character, he would not risk anything, he could not betray his promise and deal with Li Mu, even if he was disbanded and returned to his fields. Li Ji was in his prime.
He is Li Shimin's favorite candidate to succeed Li Jing as the next generation military god of the Tang Dynasty. His importance is self-evident, so Li Ji cannot move.
Besides, Southern Xinjiang, Zhenla, and Linyi are all attached to Li Mu. Southern Xinjiang is now governed by Li Mu’s stepfather Tang Jian. Li Mu’s trip to Southern Xinjiang made the Miao people feel relieved. If something happened to Li Mu, Miao Xinjiang would also be affected.
There will definitely be chaos.
These are external crises, and there are also a lot of internal problems.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Luoyang Trading Market, Datang Salt Industry, Datang Mining, and Datang Jianye, which of these economic-related matters have nothing to do with Li Mu? Let’s not talk about the others, let’s talk about Datang Daily, and it is the same now.
It is a must-read content for the people of Chang'an City every day. If something happens to Li Mu, these things will be affected. If Li Shimin can bear it, can the people of the Tang Dynasty bear it?
An indisputable fact is that Li Mu's influence on Datang has reached an irreplaceable level. Now even if Li Shimin wants to get rid of Li Mu, he will not dare to do it.
These are all from a business perspective as well as a private perspective, which also makes Li Shimin very upset.
Why hasn't this guy Li Mu come back to Chang'an to pay me New Year's greetings? The New Year is about to begin, should I go to Luoyang to see him?
Are there any rules?
Thinking back to how lively the Lantern Festival was when Li Mu was here last year, and looking at the things these gentry and merchants from Chang'an City have organized together this year, it's a world of difference.
In the theater in Pingkangli, Dou E's injustice is almost getting tired of playing. The plays written by others are not interesting at all and it is disgusting to watch. This guy Li Mu doesn't talk about updating new plays quickly when he is free, and
Nothing serious?
At the end of the year, Li Shimin suddenly found that he missed Li Mu a little. The year without this boy was really boring.
Li Shimin sighed again. Eunuch Gao stood beside him, counting in his mind, and said to himself: "This afternoon, I sighed more than twenty times. Your Majesty must have something on his mind."
He could guess that it must be related to Li Mu, but he did not dare to speak. Others did not know, but Eunuch Gao knew very well that His Majesty had a somewhat complicated mood towards Li Mu recently.
"Report,"
A voice interrupted Li Shimin's reverie. He raised his head and motioned to Eunuch Gao to take a look. Eunuch Gao came to the entrance of the palace, took a fold from the hand of the young eunuch, looked at the seal on the lacquer, and hurriedly came to Li Shimin, holding both hands
He handed it over and said, "Your Majesty, this is a letter from Lord Marquis."
"This kid still knows how to write letters!" Li Shimin snorted, feeling a little uneasy, and murmured: "Shouldn't he say that he won't come back to Chang'an for the New Year? If he doesn't come back, he won't come back. Do you think I really want to see him?"
Having said that, Li Shimin still opened the folding book. After reading it, his expression became a little complicated.
Eunuch Gao didn't know why: "Your Majesty——?"
"Li Mu invited himself to go to Li Ji's army next year, and he will bring his whole family with him." Li Shimin threw the folded book on the ground and said, "Does he underestimate my strength so much? This kid really wants to piss me off to death!"
Eunuch Gao wisely shut his mouth. Whatever he said at this time was wrong.
"I haven't decided yet whether to start a war." Li Shimin sighed and murmured to himself: "Of course I know that the country's vitality has not recovered yet, and this is not the time. However, sooner or later, Goguryeo will be a thorn in his side, and now Silla has
If we don’t take action at this time, when Goguryeo has annexed Baekje and Silla, its rear is stable, and it can advance, attack, retreat and defend, then if we want to attack Goguryeo again, we will have to pay several times the price, and I can’t afford to wait!”
Eunuch Gao knew that he had to speak. If he didn't speak, Li Shimin would lose his temper again. This feeling was similar to that of talking funny for a long time without saying a word of praise, leaving him with no time to breathe.
No, Dou Ni must have resentment in his heart.
"Your Majesty, can you talk to the Marquis about these words? Your Majesty treats the Marquis like a son. Is there anything that cannot be resolved between father and son?"
"I killed his father!" Li Shimin trembled and said this sentence as if tearing open a wound: "It may not be because of this reason that he doesn't want to see me! This is something that cannot be made up for. How can you tell me to believe it?
Doesn't he harbor hatred? If he didn't know his identity, I would be happy to be confused, but now that he has recognized each other as Lu, how can I pretend to be so confused!"
"Alas," Eunuch Gao sighed, but still said, "Your Majesty, I don't understand the truth, but I still feel that there are some things that, instead of being suspicious, it is better to clarify them. If the Marquis has any objections, Your Majesty will tell you as soon as possible."
It's better to strike with force. If the Marquis can feel relieved, then everyone will be happy, wouldn't it be better?"
Li Shimin's expression changed. How could he not have thought of what Eunuch Gao said? If Li Mu was not so important to the Tang Dynasty, with Li Shimin's decisive and decisive character, he would have eliminated him long ago to prevent future troubles. He never thought that he
The surviving son of Jiancheng who had been looking for for many years turned out to be Li Mu. If it had been anyone else, he would not have hesitated.
"Okay, let's do it!" Finally, Li Shimin made a decision: "Go to Luoyang and ask him to come back for the New Year. If he refuses, then -" Li Shimin didn't say the second part of the sentence, not because he didn't want to say it,
And he suddenly thought that the bearded man was in Luoyang, and with Eunuch Gao's skills, he might not be able to do anything even if he wanted to.
Eunuch Gao also thought about it and added with a wry smile: "If the Marquis doesn't want to return to Chang'an, then I will come back on my own."
"Alas -" Li Shimin sighed and said, "Go!"
"No." Eunuch Gao responded and exited the hall. Li Shimin looked at the sunset outside the window and sighed again!
…
When Li Mu woke up, he found that something was wrong.
He received a group of people yesterday, and he felt very happy. After all, they were his students, and they still had consciences. It was a good thing for everyone to chat, talk about things, and contribute to the country. Li Mu also felt
The mood is very happy.
But why did a group of people come here again today, and they are still a group of old men. Do I know you? What new year do you wish me to celebrate the Chinese New Year?
Hearing that they were from a well-established family, Li Mu became even more uninterested. He and these people had never been on the same path, so it was good enough not to fight each other when they met, but he was not in a good mood when he saw them, so he did not plan to meet them.
But there is a saying that if you don't hit the smiling person, you still have to be received by someone. Li Mu was about to ask Ma Zhou to go out and deal with it. Mrs. Lu came out with her grandson in her arms. When she heard what was going on, she immediately took care of him and said: "
These people are all familiar to me, so I will meet them for you."
"But," Li Mu was about to say, if we met like this, Li Shimin would be jealous, but then he thought, wouldn't he be jealous if he didn't show up? There will still be some, so it's better to be generous. Simply
He didn't say anything and nodded in agreement.
Mrs. Lu handed her grandson back to Qiaoqiao and went to the front hall. At this time, someone came to report that a person came from the back door, calling himself Wang Pu, and came to wish Li Mu New Year.
Li Mu was stunned for a moment, then remembered and asked the steward to bring Wang Pu over and meet him in the study in the backyard.
After being separated for nearly a year, Wang Pu has not changed much, except that his skin has darkened. The Southeast Asian sun has tanned Wang Pu so dark that he looks like a Kunlun slave in Chang'an City. When he saw Li Mu, Wang Pu burst into tears.
With a bang, he fell to his knees on the ground.
Li Mu quickly helped him up and said, "What are you doing? Why are you kneeling to me?"
"I have failed the Marquis," Wang Pu said with shame, "The Marquis called me back, but it happened to be civil strife in Champa City, so I came back so late."
Li Mu glanced at him and said, "There's civil strife in Champa? What's going on?"
Wang Pu tore open his shirt and showed Li Mu the wound: "Master Hou, I really didn't lie to you——"
"Huh?!" Li Mu quickly pulled up his clothes and said, "I didn't doubt you. What are you doing? I have a lot of wives at home. Are you here to play rogue in my house?"
"Don't dare!" Wang Pu quickly put on his clothes. Li Mu also saw clearly that Wang Pu did have stab wounds on his body. It seemed that what he said was true. Wang Pu sighed and said eloquently: "Master Hou, I just
After receiving your letter, I planned to come back with the seeds, but just as I was about to leave, news of the rebellion came from Champa. It turned out that some powerful people in Linyi were unwilling to lose their status and got entangled in the rebellion. There was a big rebellion.
When the big man was here, they took advantage of the big man's power and didn't dare to make any mistakes. But when the big man left and I was the only one left, they didn't care anymore."
"I was afraid even when I was a junior official, and I thought about running away. But when I thought about it, as an official of the Tang Dynasty, I have the responsibility to protect the land. If I just ran away, I would have no shame in living, so I made up my mind to fight them!"
"Fortunately, the people are loyal to us. In the end, we won. Now, all the powerful people in Zhenla and Linyi have been wiped out. After I took care of things, I hurried back." Wang Pu said in a deep voice:
"I have lived up to the Marquis's trust and brought back thirty carts of improved seeds, which is enough for the 'test field' that the Marquis mentioned in his mind."
"Okay, I'll give you a big credit." Li Mu patted Wang Pu on the shoulder and said, "It's really different. Now he is a man who can stand alone - I'm very happy."
Wang Pu smiled sheepishly and said: "It's not the cultivation of the Marquis." Wang Pu said seriously: "The Marquis is indeed a god. I stayed in Zhenla, Linyi for this year, and saw with my own eyes that the rice was three times ripe.
The common people were tired of eating rice. When I think about the Tang Dynasty, the common people still mainly relied on corn, and I feel even more that the Marquis is really far-sighted."
"Speak less flattery," Li Mu interrupted Wang Pu and said, "How long have you been back? Do you know everything about recent events?"
Wang Pu was stunned when he was asked, and said: "Master Hou, I just came back and went straight to Luoyang. I haven't gone to Chang'an to report on my work. The news I know is all informed by letters from my brother. I don't know what Master Hou is talking about."
matter?"
"You, the Wang family of Taiyuan, and I, have something wrong with you," Li Mu lowered his eyelids and said with a hint, "What do you think about this matter?"
"Master Hou," Wang Pu said seriously: "I have heard a little bit about the matter, and I want to explain it clearly to Master Hou. I, Wang Pu, was born in the Wang family of Taiyuan. This is true. But I am not the eldest son or grandson.
, I have always wanted to be involved in family affairs, and I am considered an idler. So in my mind, these are two different things. And as far as I know, my brother has regrets in his heart, but he has no face to face the Marquis. If the Marquis forgives my brother in a large amount
, the Wang family of Taiyuan will definitely look up to you with the head of the Marquis."
Li Mu smiled and said: "It seems that you are here to make peace." Li Mu patted Wang Pu on the shoulder and said: "It is indeed different. There is something in your words!"
Wang Pu knew that he couldn't hide it from Li Mu, so he said: "My brother sent someone to deliver a letter on the way to Luoyang."