Jiuxi

Chapter 761 759 [Life is like chess]

Imperial Palace, Rende Hall.

This hall is located between the harem and the front court. It is where the emperor lives and works. Li Zongben often meets with his trusted ministers here.

The official who came to see the emperor today was a rare guest in the palace. Even Yuan Yuji, who led him into the palace, couldn't help but take a few more glances at him.

This is because of his special identity. Although he is now just a scholar of the Secret Pavilion who has no real power and is only available for consultation, he is the head of the most powerful family in Jiangbei, the Zhailin Wang family, and his niece is the wife that Lu Chen married in a formal ceremony.

He is Wang An Wang Anzhong.

When he arrived at the side hall, Wang An walked in with steady steps, bowed to the emperor behind the imperial desk and said, "Your Majesty, I, Wang An, greet you."

"No need to pay tribute."

Li Zongben looked gentle, and said to Yuan Yuji, "Give Scholar Wang a seat."

Wang An said with deep fear and trepidation: "Your Majesty is so gracious, I dare not be presumptuous."

Li Zongben smiled slightly and said leisurely, "Scholar, please don't panic. The restoration of order in the Wang family of Zhailin is of great significance. It is not easy for you to endure humiliation for nearly twenty years. Let alone a stool, you deserve any grand treatment."

If Lu Chen heard these words, he would probably sneer.

Wang An came to the capital in late autumn last year, and it has been more than nine months since then. Apart from the initial appointment as an official in the capital and the grand court meetings customized by the court, he has been summoned to the palace very few times. It can be seen that Li Zongben usually hardly remembers that there is such a person in the capital.

As for the three younger generations that Wang An brought to the capital, they are now all living in some low-income government offices. Although they have a legitimate official status, they have no chance to touch real power.

Hearing the emperor's words, Wang An was filled with gratitude and said, "The late emperor was benevolent and generous, and he cared about the people. This is why the Wang family has the opportunity to make up for our mistakes. When facing the enemy's sword, the Wang family acted dishonestly, and this is known to everyone. Everything that has happened since then is just to make up for the mistakes of the past. Being able to return to the rule of the Great Qi, I and my children have achieved our long-cherished wish, and we are willing to do so even if we have to live in poverty."

Seeing that he was so humble, Li Zongben stopped forcing him and said gently, "I guess the scholar already knows the result of the battle in Jiangbei?"

Wang An replied, "Your Majesty, I have read the court report and I cannot help but feel excited and proud. Although this Northern Expedition has encountered many setbacks, under the leadership of Your Majesty, our Great Qi soldiers and the three armies have fought hard and united as one. We have not only thwarted the enemy's conspiracy, but also recovered the two strategic points of Taikang City and Yaoshan Pass. God bless Great Qi and Your Majesty!"

Li Zongben found these words very pleasing to the ear. He looked at the middle-aged scholar with a noble and bookish air and changed the subject, "My dear, as a scholar of the Secret Pavilion, can you give me some advice?"

Wang An bowed his head and said, "I am terrified. Your Majesty, please speak."

Li Zongben said slowly, "We were able to win this battle thanks to Lu Chen's good command. As the emperor, I should be clear about rewards and punishments, otherwise it would chill the hearts of the soldiers. Therefore, I am going to confer the title of Duke on Lu Chen. What do you think, Scholar?"

Wang An's heart trembled, and he controlled his facial expression, lowering his head even more and said, "Your Majesty, I am just a scholar waiting for an imperial order. How dare I make comments on such important court affairs? I dare to ask Your Majesty to summon the left and right prime ministers and the Duke of Rong to discuss the matter."

"I will naturally ask for their opinions."

Li Zongben smiled slightly, and then said: "The scholar has lived in Jiangbei for a long time and is familiar with the local mountains and rivers. He should know how difficult it is for Lu Chen to win this battle. I heard that his two wives are both pregnant, but he is busy with the king's affairs and cannot accompany him. I think he will feel a little guilty. If I make him a duke, the two daughters will be the wives of the first-rank dukes of the current dynasty. This will definitely make up for him a little, and it is also my heart."

Wang An praised him, saying, "Your Majesty is so considerate of our officials. This is a blessing for the Great Qi."

Li Zongben said with a sigh, "It's just that Lu Chen has always been conscientious in his duties and has refused fame, wealth and honor. At the beginning, I wanted to confer him the title of Duke of a county because of the great victory in Yongqiu, and I had to go through a lot of trouble to get him to accept it. If he continues to behave the same as before, I am afraid that it will cause unnecessary criticism from both the court and the public."

Wang An was silent.

In fact, when he received the imperial edict in the mansion, he had a premonition that his entry into the palace today was closely related to Lu Chen.

Originally, he thought that the emperor wanted to find out some secrets of Lu Chen from him. After all, the young emperor was not very confident about Lu Chen, and the fact that he hurriedly asked Han Zhongjie to lead the Northern Expedition was proof of that.

But I didn't expect the emperor to do this.

Putting aside the empty words, the core of the previous conversation between the two men was only one point.

The emperor was trying to show goodwill to Lu Chen, but due to some previous unpleasant events, he was too embarrassed to issue an order directly to Lu Chen, so he thought of Wang An's existence.

This has nothing to do with the background of the Wang family of Zhailin. It is only because Wang An and Lu Chen have a relatively close relationship. The Wang family is now living in Guangling, and Wang An's niece is Lu Chen's wife, so it is very appropriate to let Wang An act as the person who passes the message.

Li Zongben's intention was very clear. The past disputes between him and Lu Chen were put aside for the time being. Since Lu Chen had made outstanding contributions to protecting the territory and the people of Da Qi, he, as the emperor, would not be stingy with the title in his hand.

Wang An did not know the relationship between Gao Huan and Lu Chen, nor did he think that Gao Huan's dismissal was related to Lu Chen. He could only think of the imperial decree issued by the court a few days ago, in which Han Zhongjie was dismissed from all official positions and even his title was demoted by two ranks. This was enough to show that the emperor's hasty northern expedition was a wrong decision.

Perhaps the emperor decided to do this because he felt guilty and timid?

No, it doesn't seem that simple.

While Wang An was thinking, Li Zongben said, "According to the court regulations, those who are conferred the title of Duke should go to the court to receive it. However, since there is a precedent of Duke Rong, and Lu Chen's wife is about to give birth, he does not need to rush to the capital. He can just stay at home and accompany her. It will not be too late for him to go to the capital after everything is arranged."

It turned out to be the case.

Wang An came to his senses immediately.

The emperor kept mentioning the word "waiting for childbirth" in every sentence, and even made an exception to allow Lu Chen to receive the title in Dingzhou. So Lu Chen couldn't stay in Jingzhou forever.

Now that the Jing army has withdrawn, the border is temporarily safe. Liu Shouguang's performance in this war is remarkable, and he should continue to perform the duties of the Grand Commander of Jingzhou. In this way, Lu Chen's authority to command the military affairs of the three states in Jiangbei should also be cancelled. This is originally a temporary arrangement.

At this moment, Wang An was filled with emotion. He was not only the head of the Zhailin Wang family, but also saved thousands of clansmen from the slaughter of the Jing army, rose step by step to become the prime minister of the pseudo-Yan, and even played a trick on Qing Yugong in the end. Therefore, he knew the ins and outs of the officialdom very well, and naturally knew the emperor's suspicion of Lu Chen.

Under normal circumstances, Li Zongben would not need to go through so much trouble. An imperial decree would be enough to deprive Lu Chen of his temporary authority and allow him to come to the capital to receive the title.

The reason why he went through so much trouble was simply to give Lu Chen enough respect and avoid exacerbating the conflict between the monarch and his subjects.

Why should I have known today?

Wang An sighed silently. It was precisely because he was just a scholar with a leisurely time that he could see the situation clearly from the outside. The emperor had a more appropriate way to deal with Lu Chen's problem, and it would not have come to this point today.

To this day, I don’t know if there is any room for recovery.

Thinking of this, Wang An said respectfully: "I believe that the Duke of Shanyang will understand your majesty's painstaking efforts."

He certainly had no right to make decisions for Lu Chen. Having experienced the ups and downs of most of his life, what Wang An lacked the least was self-knowledge.

This sentence just shows the emperor that he will be a good person to pass the message.

Although he had to stand on Lu Chen's side, there was no need for him to confront the emperor in this palace. That would not be bravery but stupidity.

Li Zongben nodded with approval and said, "I feel relieved with your words, my dear minister."

After finishing the serious business, they turned to small talk. The two chatted about poetry and classics for a while. Although Wang An was not as good as his brother, he was also well-read in classics and was well-read. He could quote from many sources and make witty remarks.

The king and his ministers had a very pleasant conversation.

Even when Wang An bowed and left, Li Zongben felt a little reluctant to let him go.

However, when Wang An left the side hall under the guidance of Yuan Yuji, Li Zongben's expression dimmed.

He looked at the memorials on the desk that seemed to never end, raised his hand and pinched his brows, revealing a slight look of fatigue.

With a wave of his hand, the palace servants retreated respectfully.

When Yuan Yuji returned to the side hall, the young emperor was leaning on the couch.

"His Majesty."

Yuan Yuji looked at the emperor's face and said with a little concern: "Your Majesty, please be more at ease."

Li Zongben narrowed his eyes slightly and said with self-mockery, "Why should I be relieved? Do you think I am feeling aggrieved?"

Yuan Yuji was choked.

He did have such an idea, but he didn't dare to say it out loud.

The emperor has always been wary of Lu Chen's existence, but now he has to appease him due to the situation. How can he be in a good mood?

Li Zongben exhaled and changed the subject: "How is the progress of the thing I asked you to do?"

Yuan Yuji collected his thoughts and bowed his head, saying, "Your Majesty, I have already selected more than 300 people, all of whom are loyal and capable, and are currently training them in secret."

"Three hundred is not enough, we need at least one thousand."

Li Zongben looked indifferent, and then continued: "Su Yunqing is talented and loyal at present, but if the situation of the Weaving Bureau being the only one in power does not change, he will sooner or later become the second Qin Zheng. I asked you to recruit and train people. I don't expect you to be a sharp blade, but at least you should be able to be my eyes and ears. Whether in the capital or the palace, I hope you can detect the changes in the situation in time to prevent me from becoming blind and deaf."

"The slaves obey the order."

Yuan Yuji responded respectfully.

Li Zongben was silent for a while, and then took the initiative to bring up the previous topic: "I don't feel aggrieved, because I have been a little anxious over the past year or so, and I don't need to be anxious, because the overall situation is in my hands. Lu Chen... I am indeed worried about him, but as long as I take a step back, can he still push his luck?"

Yuan Yuji was slightly startled, with mixed feelings in his heart, and felt that the emperor was a little strange.

As an old resident of the palace, he actually felt that some of the emperor's past decisions were not very wise, but he did not dare to speak out against it.

Li Zongben seemed to have sensed something, turned his head and looked at him and said, "You have been by my side since fourteen years ago, and you are the person I trust the most. If I ever fail to make a decision, you must speak up and give me advice. I will never blame you."

Yuan Yuji immediately knelt on the ground, kowtowed and said: "I am willing to fight for your majesty with all my strength, even if it means death!"

"Okay, don't kneel down."

Li Zongben sat up, then stood up, walked to the imperial desk and looked at the numerous memorials. His expression became calmer and he said slowly: "The defeat in Kaocheng is actually my responsibility. Han Zhongjie helped me take the blame. Of course, I can only say this in front of you. After all, I have to maintain the dignity of the emperor."

"But I will remember this lesson well."

"In the future, you have to be more patient."

(End of this chapter)