Tiantang Splendid

4304 - Intentional suppression
The mourning hall was filled with smoke and incense. After Fang Jun glanced at the coffin, he placed the body covered with quilts. Cen Wenwen's eldest sons, Cen Manqian and Cen Jingqian, invited them into the side hall on the other side. There were already many people in the hall. Among the officials who offered condolences was Zhongshuling Liu Ji, who sat on the presidency...

Seeing Fang and Li coming in, the officials stopped talking and got up to salute. Liu Ji also had to get up, stepped forward to the door, and raised his hand to salute.

Now that Li Xiaogong has resigned from his position as the Chief Protector of Anxi, and has no military power in his hands, the Prince of Jiangxia is the No. 1 general in the clan who holds military power.

And Fang Jun is the Minister of Rites who is the number one in the six departments of official worship, and he is also in charge of the navy, and sits in Xuandemen, straddling the military and political circles, and Youlong, the holy family, is the number one in the dynasty.

Even Liu Ji, who was ordered by Zhongshu, did not dare to take it seriously. Of course, now that Xiao Yu defected and Cen Wenwen died of illness, Liu Ji is the well-deserved No. 1 official of the court. Li Daozong?

Therefore, although Liu Jie is not lacking in etiquette, he raised his jaw slightly, and his self-esteem was difficult to hide, or he deliberately did not hide it. After all, his status and status are very different now, and he must make a decision when facing the clan and military bosses. The tough appearance is used as an example to boost the morale of the civil servants, and at the same time, it can also win the hearts of the people, absorb Cen Wenwen's party members, unify the civil servants, and strengthen his strength.

Li Daozong clasped his fists to return the salute, while Fang Jun just nodded his head as a gesture, then walked around Liu Jie, came to the seat where Liu Jie was sitting just now, lifted the hem of his robe, and sat down with great determination.

Liu Ji: "..."

Li Daozong: "..."

Everyone: "..."

They were dumbfounded.

This side hall is probably where the Cen's family discusses in normal times, so the layout is to place two main seats side by side on the north side, which are the seats of the head of the family and the mistress, and the rest are arranged in two rows of twenty and two. Chair.

It would be fine if Fang Jun sat in the other seat, but he had to sit in Liu Ji's seat just now...

As the masters, Cen Manqian and Cen Jingqian were also dumbfounded, and then they came back to their senses, only feeling their scalps go numb.

It is true that since the 13th year of Zhenguan, Fang Jun has always been a close minister of the emperor, honored and favored by the court and the public, and the superiority of the holy family is the same for a while, even the eldest Sun Chong, who has always been loved by His Majesty Li Er, is willing to bow down. Hand reorganized the right guards and naval divisions, and has the military power in his hands, and his prestige is close to that of all the ministers of Zhenguan.To this day, Li Chengqian ascended the throne, Fang Jun's favor is even better than that of the Zhenguan Dynasty, and no one in the family can compare...

But at least Liu Ji is also the minister of the imperial court, and the minister with a good reputation. Now that Cen Wenwen has died of illness, the official position of Shangshu Youpushe will fall to Liu Ji in the near future. He is the second assistant only to the chief assistant Li Ji ah.

What's more, Li Ji never cared about anything else. This change of King Jin's army was at the beginning, which made His Majesty unhappy, and his influence in the court plummeted. Given time, Liu Ji may not be able to replace Li Ji...

Even if you, Fang Jun, are a relative of the emperor and a leader in the army, is it really appropriate to treat Liu Ji as nothing?

What's more, the current situation is unpredictable, and it is not yet known who will win and who will lose in the battle for the throne. Offending Liu Ji so severely may not leave disaster...

However, Fang Jun just sat down as a matter of course, and even looked at the two brothers of the Cen family, waved his hands and said, "You go and greet the guests yourself, don't wait too long to be rude, just let Cen Changqian come over and serve tea."

If the brothers of the Cen family are granted amnesty, they are most afraid that Fang Jun and Liu Ji will clash here. When the time comes, the Cen family will suffer an unreasonable disaster. Hearing the words, they will quickly confess their crimes to everyone, and leave the side hall with their heads bowed, not daring to look at Liu who has changed color. Ji.

No matter how well-cultivated Liu Jie is and no matter how deep the city is, facing Fang Jun's ignorance and insult at this moment, he can't help but look livid.

Others just stood aside, not even daring to breathe, for fear of harming the fish in the pond.

Li Daozong looked at Fang Jun, then at Liu Ji, and stepped forward to sit under Fang Jun's head, instead of sitting in the main seat with Fang Jun.

He is the king of the county, and he surpasses Fang Jun's Duke. It is reasonable to say that he has no reason to sit at the bottom, but he just sat down, and Fang Jun didn't get up and humbly...

The atmosphere is getting weirder.

On the contrary, Liu Jie, who had an ugly complexion, let out a foul breath, returned to normal, did not speak, went straight to the other seat next to Fang Jun and sat down, with a smile on his face, turning a blind eye to Fang Jun, and smiled at Li Daozong : "The current situation is urgent. The king of the county is responsible for guarding the Xuanwu Gate. In times of crisis, he can bring Duke Jiangling to condolences. He really is a man of affection. I really admire him."

Li Daozong stroked his short beard, and said calmly: "Liu Zhongshu is the prime minister of the country, don't listen to others, listen to the wind is rain, although the rebel army has already crossed Bashui, but there are Lu Guogong in the south and Liang Jianfang in the north. With the army of right guards, the north and the south help each other like horns, the rebels want to attack Chang'an, how easy is it? Wait until the armies from all walks of life are ready, join forces, and wipe out the rebels in just a snap of the palm of your hand."

Liu Ji was upset, this was just a scene, but Li Daozong's tone was not good, which was equivalent to being reprimanded for his Zhongshu Ling.

After being insulted by Fang Jun and reprimanded by Li Daozong in succession, Liu Jie couldn't help but want to retort. Just as he was about to speak, Cen Changqian led Cui Dunli in at the door, and everyone who had just been seated in the room quickly got up again and saluted Cui Dunli one after another.

Today's Cui Dunli is in charge of the Ministry of War, and he is a close minister of His Majesty. He is no longer Amon under Wu. How dare the officials of three provinces, six divisions and nine temples dare to be rude?

Cui Dunli also cupped his fists to return the salute one by one, and finally saluted Li Daozong, Fang Jun, and Liu Ji who were sitting at the head: "Your official has seen the king of the county, the Duke of Yue, and Liu Zhongshu!"

Liu Ji had no choice but to swallow the words that came to his lips, with a smile on his face, and nodded in greeting.

It stands to reason that the seat under Liu Jie is vacant at the moment, and Cui Dunli should sit here, but Cui Dunli went straight to Li Daozong's side, lifted his clothes and sat down.

Liu Ji's complexion became more and more gloomy...

Cen Changqian rolled his eyes, went out and called some of the Cen family's children, and poured tea for everyone with a teapot, while he himself served Li, Fang, Liu, and Cui with a teapot.

Fang Jun took the tea, looked at Cen Changqian's eyes that were red and swollen from crying, and said warmly: "The dead are gone, and the living should be strong. Your uncle regards you as his own and has high hopes. You should come out of grief and work hard." Go up, make some achievements, and you will live up to the cultivation of Jiangling county magistrate."

Among the sons of the Cen family, Cen Changqian was the most talented, and Cen Wenwen was very fond of him during his lifetime. Even when he was about to retire from illness, he wanted to pave the way for Cen Changqian and leave a political legacy.

And Fang Jun also placed high hopes on the outstanding student of this academy...

A warm current flowed through Cen Changqian's heart. Thinking of Fang Jun's favoritism and love in the academy, she couldn't help but her eyes turned red, and she choked up and said: "Students must follow the teachings of the Duke of Yue, work hard, strive to be the best, and live up to uncle's high expectations. Under the cultivation of Duke Yue!"

Many officials in the hall looked at Cen Changqian with envy in their eyes, and wished they could shout "Birth is like Cen Changqian"...

With the shadow of Cen Wenwen, the cultivation of the academy, and the support of Fang Junzhi, it can be said that Cen Changqian's road to official career has been unimpeded. Only a little display of personal ability can skyrocket and the official career will be prosperous.

With such a promising young man, who wouldn't want to be a child of his own family?
Liu Jie narrowed his eyes and looked at Fang Jun, and then at the officials in the hall, and understood why Fang Jun was so rude to him.

This is a downhill horse!

Even if he warned himself that he could become a civil servant leader without Cen Wenwen, he still had to keep his own place. He also showed his strength and prestige like a group of officials, suppressing these officials from starting a fight to disrupt the government after Cen Wenwen's death.

Cen Manqian went back and forth, and whispered at the door: "Your Majesty is here!"

Hula!All the officials in the hall got up, headed by Li, Fang, Liu, and Cui, and filed out of the side hall to the outside of the mourning hall.

I don't know when it started to rain lightly again, and the autumn wind made people feel cold all over. Li Chengqian, who was dressed in a bright yellow robe, came hurriedly surrounded by internal servants and imperial guards. Regardless of the disgrace in front of others, hurried footsteps, even ignoring the rain on the ground to wet the hem of his clothes, and not even looking at the officials standing on both sides of the door, they walked into the mourning hall under the guidance of Cen's family and looked at Cen Wenwen. The spirit seat, first shouted "Aiqing can leave me", and then burst into tears.

An atmosphere of grief permeated the entire Cen residence in an instant, all the Cen family members wept bitterly, and the guests and officials who came to express their condolences also had mournful expressions on their faces, and they were extremely envious of the courtesy Cen Wenwen received.

If the emperor can come to cry in person after his death, it will be extremely mournful, and this life will be worth it...

Li Chengqian cried for a while, and with the persuasion of the Cen family's children, he stopped his tears and walked out of the mourning hall. The officials outside stood in the light rain and all came forward to see him.

Li Chengqian wiped away his tears, greeted everyone with a sad face, and then said: "The Duke of Jiangling County is the pillar of the country, and now he has passed away suddenly. The whole world mourns. You should help us to hold the funeral successfully."

Everyone said again and again that some people who planned to go home after a walk could not go now...

Li Chengqian looked at Fang Jun and Li Daozong again, with a calm expression on his face, and said: "The situation is urgent, the rebel army is very close, and Chang'an city defense is the most important thing. The two of you are responsible for the safety of the Forbidden Garden. Since you have done your best, Let's go back to guard the palace, the Duke of Jiangling County has always been loyal to the country, so he will not be offended."

"The minister obeys the order."

Fang and Li bowed to accept the order.

Li Chengqian glanced over the faces of officials from three provinces, six departments and nine temples in the courtyard, feeling heavy in his heart.With Cen Wenwen's death and Xiao Yu's defection, no one can overwhelm the heroes in the civil servant system. After all, Liu Wei still lacks some weight.

It is conceivable that in the next period of time, brutal struggles will inevitably take place within the civil service system due to the reshaping of the power structure. When the rebels are about to approach the city, is it really a good thing?

The situation that was originally under control has suddenly increased in variables, which is really worrying.

(End of this chapter)