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

Chapter 208: Although His Highness is the Crown Prince, there are still many things he doesn’t know (First update)
On the second day of the first lunar month, it was warm at noon.

Li Chengqian sat in front of Wei Zheng's bed, pressed his pulse with his right hand, and carefully examined his condition.

Wei Zheng, who looked clearly fine, looked at Li Chengqian curiously and asked, "How is the Crown Prince's leg disease? He accompanied His Majesty in offering sacrifices to heaven and earth today, and still wants to come over to this old minister?"

"Fortunately, my legs will be able to walk all day by April, unlike now, when I need to rest only half a day." After a brief pause, Li Chengqian said, "There is no fundamental problem with my legs anymore. My father asked me to offer sacrifices to heaven and earth in order to tell them that the Tang Dynasty's legacy is intact."

Wei Zheng was stunned for a moment, then nodded slowly and said, "So it's no surprise that Yu Zhining will be appointed Prime Minister."

Li Chengqian didn't understand why Wei Zheng said this. He shook his head and said, "It's still a little short. The merits are not enough. Yu Gong is discussing what to do to make up for it. With Yu Gong's character and behavior, after a year, the merits should be enough."

Yu Zhining was one of the Eighteen Scholars in the Palace of Prince Qin. He was the former Secretary of the Crown Prince, Palace Attendant, Silver and Green Guanglu Doctor, Duke of Liyang County, and Yellow Gate Assistant Minister. He edited the "Reviction Garden" and participated in the compilation of "Book of Sui", "Rites of the Tang Dynasty", "Commentary on the Book of Changes", "Commentary on the Book of History", and "Regulations on the Administration of the Ministry of Rites".

Given his status, he is obviously one level higher than the ordinary Huangmen Shilang, and he is aiming for the position of Vice Prime Minister.

Of course, if he was to be promoted to the position of Minister of State immediately, as Li Chengqian said, his achievements would not be enough.

Even though he was the former Prince's Secretary, his achievements were still insufficient.

Compare with Liu Li.

Liu Li was originally the Yellow Gate Minister of Xiao Xian of the Later Liang Dynasty. After returning to the Tang Dynasty, he was granted the titles of Chief Clerk of the Nankang Military Governor's Office, Attendant of the Imperial Court, Chief Censor, Right Prime Minister, Silver and Green Guanglu Doctor, Palace Attendant, Yellow Gate Minister, and Senior Protector of the Army.

Liu Li's resume was no worse than Zhining's, but even he only became a minister of state after serving as the Imperial Court Minister for three years.

Now Yu Zhining has the hope of becoming the Vice-Chancellor after serving as the Imperial Court Minister for a year, as this is already because he has served as the Prince's Secretary for many years.

Li Chengqian looked up at Wei Zheng and said apologetically, "Did I say too much?"

"It's okay." Wei Zheng shook his head and didn't care.

Li Chengqian continued, "Actually, I still don't quite understand. If everything goes well, who will be the Shangshu Zuo Pushe in your father's mind?"

Neither Hou Junji nor Zhang Liang passed the test, that was something that would happen later. So before that, in everything, if everyone passed the test, what would the emperor think?
"If everything goes well," Wei Zheng thought for a moment and said, "If everything goes well, Yang Shidao will be transferred to Shangshu Zuo Pushe, Shangshu You Pushe will probably be vacant, Hou Junji will be transferred to Zhongshu Ling, Liu Li will be Shizhong, Yu Zhining will be Counsellor, Cen Wenben will be Counsellor, Chu Suiliang will be Huangmen Shilang, and Ma Zhou will be Inspector of Zhongshu Shilang. Everything will be arranged properly."

Li Chengqian nodded slowly. Indeed, this was the most reasonable approach.

"The key lies in Yang Shidao and Hou Junji." Wei Zheng sighed and said, "How will they choose?"

"Prime Minister Yang?" Li Chengqian was a little stunned. Why was Yang Shidao mentioned here?

"Although Your Highness is the crown prince, there are still many things that Your Highness does not know." Wei Zheng couldn't help but sigh.

Li Chengqian couldn't help but raise his eyes. He didn't pay much attention to Yang Shidao because the relationship between Yang Shidao and the Eastern Palace had always been distant.

Their only connection is Zhao Jie.

Zhao Jie was the son of Princess Guiyang and the former Huazhou governor Zhao Cijing. After Zhao Cijing died in battle, Princess Guiyang married Yang Shidao and gave birth to Yang Yuzhi.

In his previous life, when Zhao Jie instigated Li Chengqian to rebel and was executed, Yang Shidao pleaded for mercy, but Zhao Jie still died, and Yang Shidao was dismissed from his position as prime minister and became the Minister of Personnel.

Just like Hou Junji is now.

……

"When Yang Shidao was the Minister of Personnel, he did a good job suppressing the powerful. Friends and relatives were afraid to seek official positions to avoid suspicion. However, most of the officials he appointed were mediocre. Your Majesty commented: Yang Shidao came from a wealthy family and was ignorant of the people's feelings. His nature was kind, but he was actually cowardly." Wei Zheng shook his head and said, "Now that the situation is turbulent and he is on the front lines, Your Majesty is observing whether his handling of the situation has improved. If not, he can forget about advancing."

Li Chengqian fell silent for a moment. After a moment, he nodded and said, "In that case, the position that Yang Gong is most suitable for is really the Minister of the Central Secretariat."

"That's just a stretch. Sometimes he can't be ruthless." Wei Zheng waved his hand and said, "Government should be conducted with a balance of leniency and strictness. Too much leniency can easily lead to trouble, and too much strictness can also cause trouble."

"I appreciate your advice." Li Chengqian nodded.

"Your Majesty will see if Yang Shidao has made any progress this year, but his problem is easy to solve. If he can't become a Shangshu Zuo Pushe, he can continue to serve as Zhongshu Ling. The real problem is Hou Junji." Wei Zheng sighed softly and looked at Li Chengqian and said, "Your Highness, please persuade him again. I always feel sorry for him. There is no one else in the court who can stand alone."

Since the founding of the Tang Dynasty, there have been only a few wars involving more than 100,000 people.

There were only a few commanders in total, the emperor himself, Li Jing, Hou Junji, and Li Ji.

Li Jing has now completely retired, and it would be too difficult for the emperor to lead the army in person, so only Hou Junji and Li Ji are left. Li Ji's biggest problem is that he is a surrendered general and it is difficult for him to win the support of the people.

Li Chengqian took a deep breath. Is it a pity for Hou Junji?
Li Chengqian looked up. It was not a pity for Hou Junji. When a person had a flaw, the higher his position, the more serious the damage he would cause.

However, as Wei Zheng said, it would be a pity to depose Hou Junji like this.

Hou Junji was not only a high-ranking general in the army, but also a direct descendant of the emperor, born in the Prince of Qin's Palace. The emperor had a special affection for him, so Li Chengqian had to be cautious when it came to his affairs. After a brief pause, Li Chengqian slowly spoke, "I can persuade him, but how much he will listen to me depends on him."

Everything will fall on Hou Junji himself.

"This is the only way." Wei Zheng looked up and forward, his expression a little sighing for a moment.

Hou Junji took a wrong step and ended up in a dilemma.

……

Li Chengqian let go of Wei Zheng's wrist, looking thoughtful.

Wei Zheng smiled, looked at Li Chengqian, and said, "Your Highness, please feel my pulse. How is it?"

Li Chengqian raised his head and said slowly, "My father-in-law's health hasn't improved much, but fortunately, it hasn't gotten any worse either. The various ginseng decoctions he's taking are, in my opinion, mostly replenishing his foundation. Once that foundation is re-established, his health will improve."

"As long as it can be maintained," Wei Zheng waved his hand nonchalantly, saying, "This old minister does not ask for longevity. As long as I can see my family have a successor, I will be satisfied."

"Sister-in-law is already pregnant, why are you worried?" Wei Wei's voice came from outside the hall. She was wearing a red skirt with wide sleeves and light silk. A pair of gold bracelets were faintly visible. She walked in from outside with a happy look on her face.

Li Chengqian turned around and looked at Wei Wei, smiling and saying, "Father-in-law is talking about you and me. When my legs and feet are healed, my beloved concubine will get pregnant and show it to you."

"What are you talking about, Your Highness?" Wei Wei glanced at Wei Zheng a little embarrassedly, then bowed slightly and said, "Father, you can have your meal now."

"Yeah!" Wei Zheng nodded, then sat up from the bed.

Li Chengqian and Wei Wei hurried forward to support him. Wei Zheng said with a wry smile, "My vision is just a little blurry, it's not like I can't see."

"It's better to be careful." Li Chengqian helped Wei Zheng up, and then helped him out of the door, saying, "At your father-in-law's age, the most important thing is stability. The most feared thing is falling."

"Okay, okay!" Wei Zheng responded helplessly, then headed towards the front yard.

But when he walked out of the gate, Wei Zheng subconsciously looked back.

The curtains in the room began to sway gently at this moment.

……

Prince Wei's Mansion, study.

Chai Lingwu sat at the top of the left seat and looked at Li Tai and said, "I have already checked. On the fifth day of the first lunar month, Duke Chen will appear in Pingkangfang again. Everything else should proceed according to the previous plan."

Li Tai nodded, tapping the table gently. After a long pause, he slowly spoke, "Cousin, it's not difficult to persuade Duke Chen. The difficult part is that I still can't figure out what the emperor is thinking. He's about to conquer Goguryeo, yet he's leaving the Shangshu and Zuo Pushe positions vacant at the same time. If it was just one, it would be fine, but two..."

The positions of Shangshu and Zuo Pushe were both vacant, which made Li Tai somewhat unsure about what to do next.

Chai Lingwu thought for a moment, then said, "Your Highness, if you feel something is wrong, would you like to stop?"

"No need." Li Tai waved his hand without hesitation and said to Chai Lingwu, "Duke Chen is probably full of hope for becoming prime minister, but the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment. I only need to tell him the truth, and he will immediately collapse."

Li Tai looked at Chai Lingwu and shook his head, saying, "Now I'm actually worried that after he knows the truth, he'll do something reckless and end up messing up my plans."

One step forward would lead to the position of prime minister, but one step further would lead him back into the abyss.

"No!" Chai Lingwu looked at Li Tai, shook his head, and said, "Duke Chen is a veteran of the battlefield. He won't do anything easily, but he will definitely do something. However, it won't be directed at Your Highness, but at..."

"Targeting Father!" Li Tai immediately understood, then shook his head and said, "This is what I'm worried about. What if he angers Father?"

"Duke Chen isn't that foolish. Provoking Your Majesty is his last resort, but he'll definitely do something. Furthermore, with his methods, he can test Your Majesty without letting anyone know it was his doing." Chai Lingwu thought for a moment, then shook his head. "I just can't figure it out. I just can't figure out what Duke Chen will do."

"Then we can only wait and see. We still have to do what needs to be done." Li Tai's expression became serious. He then looked at Chai Lingwu and said, "Duke Chen's affairs can proceed as planned. However, Fang Er has not left his home since returning to the capital. Cousin, you must find a way to see him. No matter what the future holds, I need Prime Minister Fang's support."

"Yes!" Chai Lingwu nodded. Although Fang Xuanling was no longer the Shangshu Zuo Pushe, he was Sikong, the Sikong above the Shangshu Zuo Pushe, and still the prime minister, but he could not touch the affairs of the Secretariat.

Chai Lingwu has now vaguely grasped Li Tai's plan, and he knows that Fang Xuanling plays a very important role in it.

Whether Fang Xuanling can be dragged into the water depends on Fang Yiai!
Chai Lingwu didn't know whether Li Tai's secret plan could delay Fang Xuanling.

But he knew that once Fang Xuanling joined the battle, together with Hou Junji and Zhang Liang, Li Tai would be able to compete with the emperor.

(End of this chapter)