Jiuxi

Chapter 798 796 [The Power of Rules]

Pingkangfang, Li's mansion.

The Minister of War Ding Hui was very self-aware. He certainly did not think that he knew how to cultivate his character better than Li Shizhi, but at the moment he could not help but find it difficult to understand the other party's actions.

The dignified Minister of Personnel and Hanlin Academician, the most trusted and respected minister of the emperor, and the head of the Jinlin Li family, a powerful family in the south of the Yangtze River, actually opened up a vegetable garden in this quiet and elegant mansion and planted some seasonal vegetables like an ordinary old farmer.

In Ding Hui's opinion, dealing with soil is extremely ungentle. Literati should recite poems, compose essays, drink wine and appreciate the moon. This is the elegant style.

What puzzled Ding Hui the most was that, judging from Li Shizhi's skillful movements, he was obviously not pretending. At least he was quite experienced, which showed that he had done similar things before.

There was another person in the room, he was Pei Fangyuan, the chief academic officer of the Imperial College. He, Ding Hui and Qi Weili, the Minister of the Dali Temple, were very familiar with each other and he had been Li Shizhi's close confidants for a long time.

Li Shizhi did all the work himself, including turning the soil, sowing seeds, and repairing the land, while Ding Hui and Pei Fangyuan assisted him seriously.

When the sun was high in the sky, Li Shizhi finally stopped, looked at his two confidants who were sweating profusely, and said gently, "Thank you for your hard work."

Pei Fangyuan smiled slightly, and Ding Hui shook his head and said, "It's not hard, brother is really in a good mood."

"Don't come on, do you think I don't know what you're thinking?"

Li Shizhi spoke very bluntly, but this was also a manifestation of intimacy, so Ding Hui still responded with a smile.

After washing, the three of them came to the flower hall, where the servants offered them tribute of fragrant tea and then withdrew respectfully.

Ding Hui moistened his throat and spoke first, "This Lu Chen is really a worry to Your Majesty. He started making trouble as soon as he returned to the capital. Tell me, what does the death of Imperial Hospital Director Gui Qiuliang have to do with him? He had to rush to see him. Your Majesty must be angry, but he is afraid that he will pester you if you don't agree. If this continues, whether there is a problem in my Ministry of War or in the Imperial College of Old Pei, he will intervene in the future?"

Pei Fangyuan said leisurely: "The Duke of Shanyang County can't reach that far. Besides, the Imperial College and the Imperial Academy are all corrupt scholars that he doesn't like, so I don't think he will pay too much attention to them. But the Ministry of War is different. Although people laugh at it behind the scenes as a low-income government office, it is still related to the military. I guess the Duke of Shanyang County will visit the Ministry of War sooner or later."

"Hey, come if you want. Am I really afraid of him?"

Ding Hui turned to look at Li Shizhi and asked, "Brother, why did Lu Chen intervene in Gui Qiuliang's death?"

"Because Gui Qiuliang is the director of the Imperial Hospital."

Li Shizhi put down his teacup and said calmly, "Last autumn, the former Junior Supervisor of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Lü Shizhou, died unexpectedly, and now Gui Qiuliang has died of a serious illness. These two were the closest confidants of the late emperor. Although their deaths were not bizarre, they were more or less strange. Lu Chen has always been meticulous and would certainly not miss these unexpected situations."

Ding Hui and Pei Fangyuan looked at each other, and their expressions became serious at the same time.

Pei Fangyuan said in a deep voice: "What does he mean by this? Is he doubting the cause of the late emperor's death? This is not the way of a minister!"

To be precise, doubting the cause of death of the previous emperor is equivalent to doubting the current emperor.

Li Shizhi said calmly, "Lu Chen's excuse is very reasonable. Xue Huaiyi is not only the uncle of the left prime minister, but also a fellow apprentice of Gui Qiuliang. He also happened to come to the capital with him, so it is not beyond the rules to go and see him. Your Majesty understood this, so he finally approved his request."

Ding Hui snorted coldly and said, "In my opinion, Lu Chen had bad intentions in bringing Xue Huaiyi to the capital!"

"Why are you in such a hurry? You want to bet your entire fortune just after someone makes a move?"

Li Shizhi's words shut Ding Hui up, and he looked at Pei Fangyuan and said, "How are your preparations going?"

Pei Fangyuan said calmly: "Please rest assured, sir, it will come in handy at the critical moment."

"I always trust you to do things."

Li Shizhi did not ask any more questions, and said slowly: "I can understand your fear of Lu Chen. After all, in the more than 100 years of history of Da Qi, there are very few young men like him who are invincible and talented. Not only are you afraid of him, but I dare not underestimate him at all."

Ding Hui and Pei Fangyuan listened carefully.

They knew that most of Li Shizhi's plans were for the emperor's benefit. Once a conflict occurred between the central government and the border troops, or once the emperor and Lu Chen came into conflict, Li Shizhi had to be able to provide sufficient support to the emperor.

Li Shizhi continued, "Everything should be viewed from different perspectives. Lu Chen's invincibility on the battlefield does not mean that he can also be successful in the court, because these are two completely different categories. In other words, as long as Lu Chen returns to the capital, he must follow the rules here."

Ding Hui hesitated to speak.

Li Shizhi knew his thoughts very well and said calmly, "Are you trying to tell me how the court would respond if Lu Chen became angry?"

This statement was a bit explicit, but since the three of them were discussing this in a secret room, there was no need to be too reserved.

Ding Hui said worriedly: "After all, this person has a cruel temper and often calls himself a barbarian."

Li Shizhi smiled, stroking his teacup and said, "He brought back 3,000 cavalry this time. If these 3,000 cavalry can defeat the Imperial Guards and the 200,000 troops of the Beijing Camp, then we don't have to make any plans. We just need to clean our necks."

There are more than 50,000 imperial guards, and the three capital camps have a total of nearly 150,000 people. These are forces loyal to the emperor.

Just as Li Shizhi said, if Lu Chen could roam the capital area with only 3,000 cavalry without deploying the main force of the border troops, there would be no need for the emperor and the officials in the court to make a fuss.

But even Lu Chen himself would not be so arrogant.

"What you said just now is very correct. The frontier is the frontier, and the center is the center. They cannot be confused."

Pei Fangyuan took over the conversation at the right time and said calmly: "The Duke of Shanyang is in a high position and has great power. He is not the reckless little captain he was back then. He naturally knows how to act. On the contrary, as long as we keep talking about reason, he will be unable to use his power." This was a very subtle reminder.

Li Shizhi looked at him approvingly and nodded, "Of course, your majesty has never thought of bringing Lu Chen down, because he is a meritorious official who protects the country and the people, and we cannot let the people of Da Qi feel disappointed. In the final analysis, this struggle will determine the future of Da Qi. If Lu Chen is willing to give up some of his power, it will naturally be a happy ending for everyone, and your majesty will not treat him unfairly."

What if Lu Chen refuses?
Ding Hui and Pei Fangyuan didn't ask. Although they sometimes tried to appear stupid in front of Li Shizhi, they couldn't be really stupid.

Ding Hui thought for a moment and said, "If my brother could be in the palace today, perhaps His Majesty would be more at ease."

"Your Majesty asked Yuan Yuji to find me yesterday and wanted me to enter the palace to accompany him."

Li Shizhi looked calm and said softly, "After careful consideration, I think it would be best if no outsiders participated in today's imperial banquet, otherwise it would easily cause Lu Chen's disgust. In fact, your majesty's request is not excessive, it just depends on whether Lu Chen can understand."

Pei Fangyuan asked solemnly, "In your opinion, is there any hope for today's banquet?"

Li Shizhi picked up the teacup, took a sip slowly, and said quietly, "Not having a falling out right there is the best outcome."

The two of them couldn't help but be stunned.

Li Shizhi then said, "Get ready, the upcoming grand court meeting will definitely be lively."

"Yes."

The two of them responded in unison.

……

At the same time, in the Wenhua Hall of the Imperial Palace.

Inside the side hall, there was a table of imperial meals. Although there were no rare birds or beasts, the cuisine was perfect.

The palace servants serving around were almost silent.

The young emperor was not unfamiliar with the relationship between a monarch and his subjects, and he had often shown favor to his important ministers in the past. However, this was the first time that he had ever held a royal banquet in the palace to entertain a minister.

Lu Chen, who was sitting in the south, did not show any sign of being flattered. Instead, he felt a little uncomfortable.

The reason is simple, he is facing not only the emperor.

Before entering the palace, Lu Chen thought that the emperor might bring two or three important ministers to accompany him. Xiao Wangzhi was definitely not among them. Xue Nanting, Li Shizhi, Hu Jingwen or Jing Qingshan might be among them.

But he didn't expect that the emperor would come with the queen.

This graceful and elegant lady is the most noble woman in the current Da Qi, besides the two queen dowagers.

Although Empress Ning came from a humble family, she served as a princess for nearly ten years and then as empress for two years. As the saying goes, "the environment changes your temperament and the body changes your body", she naturally developed a dignified and elegant demeanor.

Li Zongben smiled and said, "I'm not sure about your taste, so I asked the imperial kitchen to try to match the flavor of Jiangbei. You just have to make do with it."

Lu Chen looked at the delicious food on the table, and for some reason he suddenly remembered Wang Chulong's cooking skills. He said earnestly, "Your Majesty, I am not very picky about food, clothing, housing and transportation. After all, I have lived in the army for a long time, and I have to set an example for the soldiers."

Upon hearing this, Li Zongben couldn't help but sigh: "No wonder the elite soldiers you lead are invincible. It's not only because of your proper planning, but the key is that you can share the joys and sorrows with the soldiers."

Queen Ning smiled and said, "Your Majesty, you said that you wanted the Duke of Shanyang to attend the banquet in a relaxed manner."

"Right."

Li Zongben nodded and said to Lu Chen: "Let's not talk about business today. Just accompany me to appreciate the cooking skills of the imperial kitchen."

Having said that, the emperor and his ministers couldn't just focus on eating and drinking like starving ghosts. Fortunately, Queen Ning was present.

This noble lady, who was very good at observing people's words and expressions, talked and laughed happily, and talked about interesting things that happened in the capital, making the atmosphere seem very harmonious.

Seeing this, Lu Chen relaxed a little, occasionally answering questions thrown by Queen Ning and calmly finishing the food in front of him.

Amidst the peace, Queen Ning's calm voice sounded again.

"Your Majesty, I have encountered something both infuriating and funny."

"Oh? What's the matter?"

"Yesterday, the wife of Marquis Pingning came to the palace to visit me. After a few words, she couldn't stop crying. I thought she had been wronged. After asking carefully, I found out that it was Tang Huai who made her worry again."

Hearing this, Lu Chen's expression remained calm. He just put down his chopsticks calmly and picked up a soft handkerchief to wipe his mouth.

He raised his eyes and looked at Queen Ning opposite him.

(End of this chapter)