Tiantang Splendid

Civilian Politics
Seeing Fang Jun's postponement, Liu Jie didn't take it seriously, and said with a smile: "Fang Erlang is a master of both poetry and poetry, and is gifted by heaven, it is precisely because you, a well-known talent in the world, choose your year number to be recommended to His Highness, so that you can show the world's heart and literary education. How could Fang Erlang postpone it? Besides, you are the Minister of Rites and the master of the world's literary circles, so it's only natural."

The Ministry of Rites is the head of the six ministries in name, and perhaps its real power is slightly lower than that of the Ministry of Officials, but those who can serve as ministers of the Ministry of Rites are all great Confucian scholars and literary masters of the dynasty. bit?
Liu Ji was dissatisfied in his heart.

Choosing a year name is not just a matter of putting together two auspicious characters. There are so many words in it, and a little negligence will be biased.

Fang Jun didn't know where Liu Ji's inexplicable sourness came from, but when it comes to this point, it's hard to shirk, so he nodded and agreed: "So, I will do my part."

It's just a year name, at worst, go back and ask Kong Yingda for advice, if it doesn't work, just copy one from the emperor's year names of the Song and Ming dynasties, such as "Hongwu", "Jingyou" and so on...

Liu Jie made up his mind that when Fang Jun chose the year name, he must pick and choose, and add trouble to this guy.

Civilizations throughout the ages are like a sea, good things and bad things change, and good people and bad people emerge in endlessly. If you want to get a bad name from a certain word, isn't it easy to catch?

Of course, this kind of thing can't hurt Fang Jun's status and prestige, it's just a disgusting person...

Just at this time, the servant came in and reported that Cui Dunli had an audience outside the palace gate and had important military reports.

Li Chengqian hurriedly summoned him.

Not long after, Cui Dunli, who was dressed in an official robe, quickly entered the hall and bowed to the ground: "Your Majesty, I have seen His Highness the Crown Prince, Cen Shaofu, Yue Guogong, and Liu Shizhong."

Seeing that the hem of his robe had been wet by the rain, Li Chengqian hurriedly said: "There is no need to be polite, come here, and bring a piece of clothes that Gu has never worn, and give Cui Shilang a change."

The crown prince bestowed clothes, which can be regarded as an honor and favor, which is enough to show Li Chengqian's heart-to-heart for Cui Dunli.

Cui Dunli was very grateful, thanked him quickly, and followed the servant to change clothes.

Liu Jie sat there drinking tea slowly with drooping eyelids, feeling tired for a while.Just now there was a problem with Cui Dunli’s title order. If they were called according to their titles, they should be the Duke of Yue, Fang Jun, followed by Cen Wenwen, the son of Jiangling County, and himself; Jun is the last... As a result, Cui Dunli put Cen Wenwen first. This is respect. After all, he is Fang Jun's henchmen.

The dignified servant of the country is already one of the top leaders of the empire, but he is despised by a mere military servant. It can be seen that Fang Jun's party has a deep prejudice against him.

In troubled times, military generals treated civil servants like pigs and dogs, slaughtering and trampling on them wantonly. Now it is certainly not a troubled time, but the government is turbulent and the society is not stable.

After Cui Dunli changed his clothes and came out, Li Chengqian ordered him to take a seat, and then he told him, "I just received the report of the Anxi Army's [-]-mile urgent battle. Pei Xingjian has chosen [-] elites to set off from Luntai City, and now they have arrived in Hexi. , depending on the development of the situation in Guanzhong to decide whether to enter the pass for support, and at the same time deter Tubo. Zanpo led his cavalry from the Dadouba Valley to the south and returned to the hometown of Tuyuhun. It seems that Luoxi City has some new suppression actions against the Gar family. , Lu Dongzan has already left the logic, and the two sides are very likely to break out of war."

Li Jing lifted his spirits, and said with emotion: "With reinforcements and no external troubles, His Highness's destiny belongs to him!"

Cui Dunli nodded and said, "That's right. Ever since the King of Jin rebelled, the Ministry of War has been closely monitoring Tubo's movements. Judging from the current news, Songtsan Gampo wanted to take advantage of the chaos in Guanzhong to directly send troops to occupy the Hexi counties." One, it can cut off the channel between Datang and the Western Regions, so that when it uses troops to the Western Regions, it can face an isolated and helpless Anxi Army, which greatly increases the chance of winning. The family foundation has been lost, and they have to rely on Luoxie again... However, with the Anxi army stationed in Hexi, Tubo has remained on hold until now, and has probably given up these extravagant hopes."

The Ministry of War is now very powerful and has sufficient funds. Since Fang Jun took office, he has placed and purchased a large number of detailed works in neighboring countries. He not only draws detailed maps of mountains and rivers and hydrology in various countries, but also keeps abreast of political and military developments in various countries, especially for the next ten or even decades. The No. [-] powerful enemy, Tubo, put in a lot of effort.

It's just that Cui Dunli has firmly grasped all this information, even Zhang Xingcheng, who is the minister of the Ministry of War, doesn't know it at all.

Li Chengqian's expression remained unchanged, but he breathed a sigh of relief in his heart, and praised: "The Ministry of War has a very important position and power, which concerns the country and the country. Fortunately, Aiqing is so good at presiding over the affairs of the ministry, so that the whole empire can rest easy. Aiqing has made great achievements."

Cui Dunli was overjoyed, and got up again, with a grateful expression on his face: "How dare you be praised by His Highness for something in a lowly position? The Duke of Yue often taught us that at this time of national crisis, the only way to live up to His Highness is to work hard and be ashamed of yourself." Faith is heavy!"

He knew that since the crown prince said these words, it meant that he had affirmed his achievements in the Ministry of War, and it was a foregone conclusion that he would be promoted one step further in terms of merit and appreciation in the future.

And the closest reward for meritorious service is naturally the day when the crown prince ascends the throne. When the time comes, he will reward the meritorious officials and the three armies, and his dream of becoming the minister of the Ministry of War will probably come true.

From being a minister of the Ministry of War to becoming a Minister of the Ministry of War, it is not only about the promotion of rank and authority, but also a leap in status. It is a leap from an assistant officer to an important minister of the court...

Li Chengqian said happily: "Whether the punishment is good or not, the inside and outside are the same, I dare not pretend to be wise, but I will never treat meritorious ministers slowly, and I hope that Aiqing will continue to encourage and assist Gu Sao to suppress the rebellion and conquer the world. I will reward you generously! "

Cen Wenwen and Liu Jie looked at each other in silence.

*****
Coming out of the Taiji Palace, Cen Wenwen boarded the carriage and asked the driver to stop for a while. When he saw Liu Ji coming out of the palace gate, he asked his servants to invite him to the mansion for a discussion. Afterwards, the two carriages passed through the long distance Street, go out from Yanxi Gate and go to Cen Wenwen's mansion.

The rain was pattering, and the bluestone slabs on the long street were broken and bumpy, seeming to silently record the cruel and bloody killing...

Back at the mansion, Cen Wenwen simply washed his face, ordered someone to call Liu Ji to the study, and waited for the servant to serve fragrant tea, but he waved him away. There were only Cen and Liu in the study, sitting on the tea table in front of the window. Sit opposite each other.

The open windows let in the clear air, the rain is gurgling, and the flowers and trees in the courtyard outside the windows are fresh and lush. A pot of chrysanthemums is placed on the tea table against the window sill. The rare orange flowers are blooming brightly and brilliantly. It is like a sunset glow, beautiful and magnificent.

Liu Jie held the pot and poured tea, pushed the teacup in front of Cen Wenwen, and couldn't help but said: "What I saw today, Fang Jun's influence on the prince is simply appalling. When the prince ascends the throne in the future, Fang Jun will not have power? Countermeasures, so as not to be controlled by others."

It is a violation of the rules at any time. This kind of thing can happen, and it can even be acquiesced. However, the crown prince openly praised Cui Dunli, which shows that Fang Jun's favor and trust, Ai Wu and Wu Xia, have already disregarded the official rules .

When the crown prince ascends the throne in the future, who else can check and balance Fang Jun?
Cen Wenwen picked up the teacup and took a sip, clicked his mouth, savored the sweetness, then sighed, and said, "Xiao Shiwen is confused, why are you also confused?"

Liu Ji didn't know why, so he hurriedly said, "Please enlighten me, sir."

Cen Wenwen rubbed the space between his brows. He had been sick for several years, and this year he managed to recover a little bit. His Majesty passed away again. The funeral ceremony for many days almost killed half of his life. He was very exhausted.

After a while, he said: "The lord is kind and cowardly, the world is peaceful, the treasury is abundant, and the status of generals will inevitably decline. But you guys just happened to be meeting at the right time, and you should assist His Highness to achieve great achievements and elevate the status of civil servants to an unprecedented height, why do you have a lot of dissatisfaction with His Highness in your words, do you want to follow Xiao Yu's example and start a rebellion?"

Since the end of the Han Dynasty, the world has been in chaos and wars have been frequent, and there has never been a hundred years of peace. Therefore, the people of the country are martial arts and pay attention to a "general and minister". Pen Anmin.

Civil and martial arts go hand in hand, and it is difficult to distinguish between Xuan and Jin.

But Wen and Wu are distinct, so how can they be confused?

When military generals ruled the country, the country favored martial arts, conquering non-officials and expanding territories at every turn. No law or order of any country could be worth a single military order.

Once the monarch is wise and powerful, it means that he is ambitious, restless, and always wants to make some great achievements from the past to the present, and all of these need to be done with all the power of the country, which has little to do with the hidden dangers of being a general. respectively.

What these two have in common is that they regard rules and laws as nothing, are self-willed and arbitrary, and the life and death of courtiers are all between joy and anger. No scruples, but no constraints.

Who can bear this?
As a minister, he is already considered the best among hundreds of millions of people, but he managed to climb to the position of being below one person and above ten thousand people, but his life and death depended on the king's thoughts. Anyone should be trembling and fearful, how can he be reconciled?

The supremacy of imperial power is by no means a good thing. Not only are the lives of the people in the world not guaranteed, but the continuation of the country is also threatened. Emperors change from generation to generation, and there will always be incompetent masters. , everyone can only watch helplessly as he defeats the empire.

It is the most ideal state to delimit the imperial power within a certain range and govern the world with a set of laws and rules.

Restricting imperial power has been the supreme ideal pursued tirelessly by civil servants since ancient times...

(End of this chapter)