Li Chengqian of the Tang Dynasty: Please say long live His Majesty

Chapter 102: Regent, Temporary Supreme Ruler of the Empire (Part )
Early summer is clear and the morning light is dim.
At the foot of Chengtian Gate, Li Chengqian, dressed in a light yellow robe with nine pythons and nine emblems, sat calmly on a long couch, with the tightly closed palace gates behind him.

On the palace gate stood the endlessly solemn imperial guards, quietly serving as a backdrop behind Li Chengqian.

The emperor went on an eastern tour and the crown prince was regent.

Li Chengqian sat at Chengtian Gate every morning to hold court.

Chang'an, Yongzhou, Guanzhong, Jiannan, Longyou, Ganliang Road, Tuyuhun, Anxi, and the Turkic steppes, many things are brought to Li Chengqian every day waiting for him to make the final decision.

After the emperor left Chang'an, Li Chengqian became the most honorable person in the entire city of Chang'an.

Even Wei Zheng, who was truly in control of everything, would spend a little time every day to instruct him on the details of political affairs.

The sun rose slowly in the eastern sky. Wei Zheng, Hou Junji, Cen Wenben, Lu Chengqing, Cui Renshi, Wen Wuyin, Cui Dunli, Hu Yan, Yu Zhining and more than a dozen other court officials stood on both sides of the city gate, each reporting on government affairs.

Gradually, today's morning court came to an end.

"Your Highness, I have something to report!" Chief Censor Liu Xiaosun stepped forward and bowed.

"Tell me!" Li Chengqian nodded slightly.

Liu Xiaosun bowed solemnly and said, "Your Highness, the Guangzhou Recorder and Military Officer Fancheng has reported that the Guangzhou Governor Dang Renhong has committed massive corruption. The Censorate requests a thorough investigation."

"Who?" Li Chengqian looked up suddenly.

"The Guangzhou governor Dang Renhong has embezzled a huge amount of money. Please ask the Censorate to investigate in detail." Liu Xiaosun bowed with a serious expression.

"Memorial!" Li Chengqian's expression suddenly became cold and serious. He glanced to the side. The eunuch Dou Zhijie immediately stepped forward to take the memorial and handed it to Li Chengqian.

Li Chengqian opened the memorial and saw that the Guangzhou Governor Dang Renhong had embezzled hundreds of thousands of strings of cash. Li Chengqian's face instantly turned gloomy.

With a "bang", Li Chengqian slammed the memorial on the table, and his breathing became heavy for a moment.

After a brief pause, Li Chengqian stared at Liu Xiaosun and asked in a cold voice, "Mr. Liu, the Governor of Guangzhou is a high-ranking official of the Third Rank. Why didn't this memorial go to Luoyang, but to Chang'an instead?"

From Guangzhou to Chang'an, you must pass through Luoyang.

The emperor is in Luoyang now, so the memorial impeaching a third-rank official should be sent directly to Luoyang. Why would it appear in Chang'an?
It was as if he, Li Chengqian, was the only one who could handle a third-rank official.

"Your Highness, this memorial was sent from Guangzhou the day before Your Majesty left Chang'an, and it hasn't been presented to Your Majesty yet." Liu Xiaosun briefly explained the situation, then looked up at Li Chengqian and said, "Your Highness, should this memorial be sent to Luoyang?"

Sent to Luoyang, it was obvious that the emperor had left this memorial in Chang'an for Li Chengqian to handle.

Taking a deep breath and calming himself, Li Chengqian waved his hand and said, "I will give it to you, but at least I and you have a basic attitude."

"Yes!" Liu Xiaosun bowed solemnly.

"What does the Censorate think about this matter?" Li Chengqian's eyes fell on Liu Xiaosun.

"Your Highness," Liu Xiaosun said without hesitation, bowing. "Over the years, the Censorate has received reports of corruption by the Guangzhou Governor, but they were all small amounts, not enough to warrant investigation by the Censorate..."

"A habitual offender." Li Chengqian snorted coldly, turned to look at Hou Junji, and asked, "Duke Chen, Dang Renhong is an old man in the Qin Palace, right? What kind of person is he? You are the Minister of Personnel, so give me a definite answer."

The most direct authority in the court's administration of civil servants was the Ministry of Personnel's Department of Examination and Rectification, and the Ministry of Personnel could not avoid the trouble of this matter.

Yes, trouble.

Dang Renhong is an old man in the Qin Palace. He has made great contributions both on the battlefield and in the Xuanwu Gate coup.

It was also because of this that after the emperor ascended the throne, he served as governor of Nanning, Rong, Guang and other states.

Hou Junji, who was also an elder from the Qin Palace, stood out with a somewhat awkward expression and said with a bow, "Your Highness, that happened in the Qin Palace almost twenty years ago..."

"So, this might be true?" Li Chengqian interrupted Hou Junji, then turned to Wei Zheng and asked, "What does Prime Minister Wei say?"

Wei Zheng stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Dang Renhong is quite talented and has achieved great success and gained a good reputation wherever he has been. Therefore, even if he has some minor flaws, Your Majesty tolerates them out of respect for him. However, he did go a bit too far in this incident in Guangzhou."

Wei Zheng read the memorial, but it was not convenient for him to make a decision directly.

After all, Dang Renhong was a veteran in the Qin Palace. Wei Zheng could impeach him and give him advice, but he could not make decisions for him.

Now that the emperor is unwilling to make a decision, he can only rely on the prince.

"Investigate it." Li Chengqian raised his head and said sternly, "The Guangzhou Recorder and Military Officer have reported that he embezzled hundreds of thousands of strings of cash. This figure is too high and must be verified in detail. The Censorate, the Supreme Court, and the Ministry of Personnel should each send one person to investigate, and send a team of Qianniu Guards to escort him. I must know the results before your father returns to the capital."

"Yes!" Wei Zheng was the first to bow, followed by the Minister of Personnel Hou Junji, the Junior Secretary of the Dali Temple Hu Yan, and the Chief Censor Liu Xiaosun.

You know, the annual revenue of the Tang Dynasty is only more than 8 million strings of cash, hundreds of thousands of strings of cash, this number is too heavy.

If we really want to verify it, it will cost lives.

Li Chengqian paused for a moment, then looked at Cen Wenben and said decisively, "Minister Cen, the Secretariat has drafted an official document requesting that all prefectures and counties along the route provide convenience. At the same time, all prefectures in the Guangzhou Governor's Office must cooperate with the investigation. Use stern language. This matter must be resolved as quickly as possible."

"I obey your command." Cen Wenben stood up and bowed solemnly.

"Although the Emperor is in Luoyang now, he will be back soon." Li Chengqian pondered for a moment and said, "Minister Cen, the Secretariat has drafted an official document requiring Guanzhong, Jiannan, Longyou, and Shasu Prefectures to strictly investigate official administration and clean up the legal system. After the Emperor returns to the capital, I will report the entire matter to you. If anyone is negligent or slack, don't blame me for being ruthless."

"Yes!" All the ministers bowed.

Li Chengqian nodded slightly. The Crown Prince is the regent. What does it mean to be the regent? This is the Crown Prince is the regent.

The greatest power of the Crown Prince Regent is that it allows him to exercise prestige and issue orders to all directions in the name of the temporary supreme ruler of the empire.

Of course, he doesn't have to think about the area east of Luoyang, but there is Guanzhong and the area west of Guanzhong. He can infiltrate his prestige into every corner through one thing after another.

The Tang Dynasty controlled the world from Guanzhong.

In the entire Tang Dynasty, more than half of the imperial troops were in Guanzhong...

Li Chengqian would not touch the military power, but he could show favor to these soldiers and their families.

One day in the future, if something unexpected happens, as long as the Guanzhong government soldiers recognize his position, then he will be able to completely secure his rule over the world. Li Chengqian was about to say something when he saw the Imperial Censor Liu Xiaosun standing among the ministers with an embarrassed look on his face, wondering what he was thinking.

"Mr. Liu, do you have anything else to say?" Li Chengqian frowned slightly.

Liu Xiaosun stood up and bowed, saying with some embarrassment, "Your Highness, I'm wondering who would be the most suitable person to go to Guangzhou. After all, this trip is actually quite dangerous."

The eyes of the ministers on both sides darkened at the same time.

Even though Li Chengqian had already sent a team of Qianniu Guards and ordered the Guangzhou government to cooperate, if it were really confirmed that a military commander like Dang Renhong, who came from the Qin Palace, had embezzled hundreds of thousands of dollars, he could be killed if he was not careful.

"Let Su Liangsi go," Li Chengqian rapped the table and said thoughtfully, "His father is one of the Eighteen Scholars of the Qin Palace and has some friendship with Dang Renhong. Furthermore, the Crown Prince's Thousand Oxen Guard Qin Huaidao is also going, along with Zhang Wenguan, the Deputy Minister of the Supreme Court. When they go to Luoyang, they can meet with the Emperor, and Dang Renhong will stop causing trouble."

Logically, Dang Renhong would not dare to do anything if the court sent people to Guangzhou to investigate.

But many things are not just about him, there are other people involved.

Who knows who will take the risk.

This is a crisis, but also an opportunity.

Opportunities for Su Liangsi, Zhang Wenguan and Qin Huaidao.

……

Since the emperor's eastern tour, the main gates of the palace, Chengtian Gate, Jiade Gate, and Taiji Gate have all been closed.

However, the Secretariat and the Ministry of Personnel, located on both sides of the Taiji Hall, continued to operate as usual.

However, officials on duty would pass through Changle Gate and Guangyun Gate every day.

The same goes for Li Chengqian. Even though he is the crown prince, he cannot go through Chengtian Gate when the emperor leaves the capital.

Even though the emperor asked him to look after his brothers and sisters in the harem, it was actually impossible for Li Chengqian to go to the harem.

Therefore, Su Shu usually went to the harem every day to check on the affairs of the harem and make sure that everything was fine.

In Zhaode Hall, Li Chengqian looked up at Yu Zhining and said, "Master Yu, please go to the Ministry of Revenue in person. I want to see the details of Guangzhou's tax payments over the past three years."

"Your Highness, are you still thinking about Dang Renhong?" Yu Zhining stood up and bowed.

"Hmm!" Li Chengqian nodded and said, "I feel like there's something amiss here."

"Okay, I'll go there right now." Yu Zhining turned around and left immediately.

Li Chengqian looked at his back and his expression became serious.

In his previous life, Dang Renhong was finally found to have embezzled millions.

One eighth of the annual income of the Tang Dynasty.

Such a huge amount of wealth was enough for the emperor to kill him.

But the problem is that when Dang Renhong's case was investigated in the previous life, the emperor did his best to plead for him, even going so far as to fast in order to beg for mercy from God.

This is very strange.

No one knew better than Li Chengqian what kind of person his father was.

Not to mention Dang Renhong, even if it was any other old minister of the Qin Palace who dared to embezzle one-eighth of the annual income of the Tang Dynasty, he would not only kill him, but also punish his entire clan.

Perhaps some people would say that the emperor was doing a favor for the other old ministers in the Qin Palace, and at the same time warning them.

But Li Chengqian always felt that things here were not that simple.

Unless... unless this money belongs to the emperor.

The purpose, of course, is the future war with Goryeo.

In other words, this money is not necessarily embezzled.

Originally, this case was to be dealt with next year. As soon as Dang Renhong was released from prison, the money was immediately transferred to the Ministry of Revenue...

"Your Highness!" Rapid footsteps sounded outside the palace. Li Anyan walked in quickly, saying, "Urgent news from Luoyang."

Li Chengqian was surprised and took the document to take a look.

……

In April, Xinmao, the emperor visited the Xiangcheng Palace. The ground was hot and there were many poisonous snakes. On Gengwu, the Xiangcheng Palace was abolished and distributed to the people. Yan Lide was dismissed from his post.

"Qingque's father-in-law was dismissed from his post as Governor of Bozhou just like that?" Li Chengqian frowned, looked at Li Anyan, and said, "Shouldn't the imperial palace be stocked with plenty of realgar? Could it be that Yan Lide, the former Chief Architect, forgot about it?"

"No!" Li Anyan's expression grew solemn. He looked at Li Chengqian and said, "That's absolutely not the case. Yan Lide has built countless palaces and imperial residences. He even built Emperor Gaozu's Xianling Mausoleum and Your Majesty's Zhaoling Mausoleum."

"So, there must be something wrong here." Li Chengqian pondered for a moment and said, "Let's investigate. I don't know why, but I feel that this matter is related to Qingque and the assassination of my father in Mount Li."

"Ah!" Li Anyan's face was full of surprise.

"Although Yan Lide wasn't heavily involved in Qingque's affairs, he is Qingque's father-in-law after all, and it's inevitable that he would be implicated in many matters." Li Chengqian shook his head and said, "No matter what the final result is, we must investigate. If we really don't investigate anything, it will be surprising."

The King of Wei has always been plotting the position of Crown Prince. Now that such a big thing has happened, it is abnormal that the Eastern Palace has not reacted at all.

"Keep a low profile." Li Chengqian suddenly became cautious.

"Here!"

(End of this chapter)