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

Chapter 322: Li Zhi: The world is vast, and there is much to do (First update)
Prince Jin's Mansion, study room.

Ji Jiafu bowed to Li Zhi, who was sitting on the short couch, and said, "I sent someone to find Li Yushi, but Li Yushi refused to see me. He only sent someone to tell me that he had something to do and could not come to see Your Highness."

"Something?" Li Zhi clenched his fists. After his anger subsided, he gradually calmed down. "I know exactly who Li Yifu is. As long as he's still an official of the Prince of Jin, he'll be the first to come and greet me when I return to Chang'an. So, his absence isn't because of himself, but because...something's really wrong?"

"Your Highness?" Ji Jiafu looked at Li Zhi in surprise.

Li Zhi waved his hand and said thoughtfully, "Li Yifu said that the emperor transferred him back because there was something going on in the Censorate. Now he's saying there's something going on again, so it's very likely that there really is something going on in the Censorate."

Ji Jiafu fell silent, not knowing what to say.

Li Zhi glanced at him and shook his head slightly. Ji Jiafu was good at doing things, but he was not capable of analyzing the situation with him.

But it just so happened that the chief secretary of the Prince of Jin’s Palace was Li Baiyao, and Li Baiyao was previously the prince’s man.

Originally, Li Zhi thought that he could gain Li Baiyao's trust by pretending to be well-behaved, but Li Baiyao ignored him.

As long as Li Zhi made the slightest mistake, Li Baiyao would immediately appear to advise him. Although his words were not that unpleasant, it was really annoying to hear them too often.

Li Zhi now somewhat understood how the prince felt back then.

After all, the prince had told them all these things.

……

Shaking his head, Li Zhi withdrew his thoughts. Li Baiyao was his chief secretary of Prince Jin, but he was not on the same page with him.

Before, Wei Ting was able to send secret messages, but after Wei Ting died, Li Zhi didn't even have anyone to discuss with.

Li Yifu finally came back, but unfortunately he couldn't come over.

"If the Censorate has something going on, then naturally they're impeaching someone." Li Zhi narrowed his eyes and pondered, "When your father returns to court, just as he said, not only will the provincial governors across the country report on their work, but all the provincial governors, ministers, and other officials, from the prime minister down to the imperial doctors, will also have to report on their work."

Ji Jiafu stood aside, watching Li Zhi thinking, and even his breathing became lighter.

"Since we have to report on our work, then naturally some people will be promoted and some will be dismissed." Li Zhi finally understood. He looked at Ji Jiafu and said, "Li Yifu is going to impeach someone, and who knows, it might be a senior official in the court."

Hearing Li Zhi say this, Ji Jiafu suddenly looked up, and said with surprise, "Your Highness!"

"Don't even think about it!" Li Zhi waved his hand, looked up at Ji Jiafu, and said warningly: "This matter was arranged by the emperor. The person to be impeached and the person to replace him have already been arranged by the emperor. Don't even think about doing anything tricky here."

"Okay." Ji Jiafu sighed with some disappointment.

"But it's not like there's no chance." Li Zhi raised his head, looked ahead, and said thoughtfully, "When someone gets promoted, there will naturally be vacancies. Layer by layer, people will push up one by one, so we still have a chance. It just depends on who is suitable."

Li Zhi lowered his head and thought about the people he could think of.

upper layer……

Suddenly, Li Zhi's expression changed slightly.

At this time, he suddenly discovered that he had no confidants in the upper echelons whom he directly trusted.

No, originally he had one, Wei Ting.

Although Wei Ting was dismissed from his post as Imperial Censor and became the Chief Clerk of Prince Jin, he was later even dismissed from all his official positions.

However, Wei Ting's foundation is still there.

As long as the emperor remembers him, he can be reinstated at any time.

After all, Wei Ting was even exiled to Yuexi because of what Yang Wen did. Later, he was reinstated and became a Langzhong of the Ministry of Personnel. He was then promoted to the Minister of Personnel, and then to the Minister of the Imperial Household, and then to the Chief Censor.

So as long as Wei Ting is still around, he'll have a chance to rise again, especially with an opportunity like this...

But, he died.

Wei Ting’s death had nothing to do with Li Zhi. Li Zhi didn’t even know that he was poisoned. But Li Zhi knew that Wei Ting’s death in the end was definitely partly because of him.

Li Zhi shook his head, his expression somewhat gloomy.

Without Wei Ting, the only person Li Zhi could directly contact was his Chief Secretary of the Prince of Jin, Li Baiyao, the Minister of the Ministry of Rites.

But Li Baiyao happened to be the prince's man.

Moreover, Li Baiyao had only been the Minister of Zongzheng Temple for a short time, so it was impossible for the emperor to touch him at this time.

As for the others, they were all indirectly related to him, such as Bingzhou Chief Clerk Dou Xiaoqian and Bingzhou Sima Hu Guang.

Of course, there is also his father-in-law, Luozhou Sima Zhao Zhongjian.

But the problem is that the first two have no close relationship with him, and Zhao Zhongjian was implicated in the Hebei incident. It is already very good that he is not punished by the emperor.

Li Zhi had other connections, but they were all connected through other people.

For example, other people from the Qinghe Zhao family in the court, and other relatives of the Hongnong Yang family.

Although these people have a certain relationship with him, their interests are not so deeply tied to his.

In the current court, there are almost no people that Li Zhi can use and whose interests are closely tied to his.

This also means that at this moment, even if he wants to do something, he does not have enough manpower.

Without sufficient support to intervene, it is difficult for Li Zhi to take direct action on the current matter.

"Forget it, we won't get involved in this matter." Li Zhi shook his head. His trusted subordinates were all in the Prince of Jin's Mansion. It would be difficult to push them out at the moment. Moreover, for Li Zhi, there were not many people he could trust, so he didn't want to push them out.

He was even a little worried that if he let them out, the prince would send people to kill them.

……

"Your Highness!" Ji Jiafu looked at Li Zhi cautiously and said, "Should we try to push the Crown Prince's people, such as Dai Zhide and Zhang Wenguan, the Chief Justices of the Dali Temple, and Wang Renyou, the Sima of Yongzhou...?"

It doesn't matter whether they succeed or not, let them fight with others, let the prince fight with others!"

Li Zhi looked at Ji Jiafu in surprise. He couldn't imagine that Ji Jiafu actually had this brain.

Li Zhi lowered his head in thought. After a moment, he sighed and shook his head, saying, "Forget it. Although my father may not be keeping an eye on them now, he will definitely send someone to keep an eye on me... If I really do something reckless, I'm afraid my father won't let me go."

Ji Jiafu's expression paused, then he nodded helplessly.

"But it's not like there's really nothing we can do." Li Zhi looked at Ji Jiafu and said, "At least, we can spread the news and let others fight for it. We can just do a favor."

"Yes!" Ji Jiafu's expression suddenly became happy.

"But we need to be careful." Li Zhi raised his head and said softly, "It's the end of the year, and it's time to prepare New Year's gifts. We need to prepare for my father-in-law, the Yang family, and even my brother and father. There are also several princesses and royal brothers..."

Li Zhi suddenly stood up. At this moment, he suddenly realized that he was not without other means to help.

In the past, he only kept an eye on the prince and the court, but because of the emperor's fear, he did not dare to get too close to the court officials who had nothing to do with him.

But he also has other ways.

Although the crown prince is the only brother who shares the same mother, the emperor's other princes are also his brothers, and they all have their own maternal clans behind them.

Not only the emperor, but also the princess, who also has her own maternal family.

Moreover, like princes and princesses, they also have their wives’ families and husbands’ families, as well as their own subordinates.

Li Zhi suddenly slapped his forehead. How come he didn't realize that there were actually many people he could contact.

These people are all connected to the palace.

If this force could be gathered together, Li Zhi's power inside and outside the court would not be inferior to that of the crown prince.

What's more, his interactions with these brothers and sisters were just normal brotherly interactions.

It would not be as taboo as his interactions with court officials.

Of course, it can't be too obvious, otherwise the prince will notice it.

Li Zhi slowly sat down, looked up at Ji Jiafu, and said, "In the past, I only regarded my brothers as rivals for the throne, but now, it is not a bad idea for me to use their power."

"Your Highness!" Ji Jiafu's face was full of joy.

Suddenly, the road that seemed hopeless became open.

There is a vast world and great potential!

"We have to be careful and not let my brother and father find out." Li Zhi shook his head and said cautiously, "Not everyone can be contacted, such as King Wu and Gao Yang."

Prince Wu Li Ke was Yang Guang's grandson, and he himself lived in fear. If Li Zhi really wanted to collude with him, I'm afraid there would be even more people opposing him.

Princess Gaoyang's husband was Fang Yiai. After what happened with Li Tai, Fang Yiai became cautious and even fearful.

And he was too obvious. If Li Zhi really wanted to get close to Fang Yiai, others would be able to see through his intentions at a glance.

He wants to choose someone.

Choose the most suitable person.

"Keep a low profile." Li Zhi looked up at Ji Jiafu and said softly, "I will soon be transferred from Bingzhou. If I leave Bingzhou, I will no longer be a threat to my brother. He will no longer pay attention to me, so I can keep a low profile."

As long as the emperor is not dead, he will always have a chance.

"And Li Yifu." Li Zhi took a deep breath and said, "Li Yifu wants to impeach an important official this time. If his plan succeeds, he will probably be promoted..."

Li Zhi suddenly sneered and said, "Maybe he will be transferred out of the Prince of Jin's Mansion. That's good too. We will have our own spies in the court."

Ji Jiafu nodded in agreement.

Li Yifu is now the Assistant Censor. If he is promoted one step further, even if he cannot become the Chief Censor, he can become the Attendant Secretary, the Secretary of the Secretariat, the Doctor of the Left and Right Offices of the Shangshu Province, the Doctor of the Six Ministries, and even more, the Secretary of the Nine Temples and the Director of the Temple.

As long as he has a firm foothold in the court, he will be able to clearly know everything in Chang'an even if Li Zhi is not in Chang'an.

Li Zhi raised his head and said calmly, "Back then, the King of Wei had considered praising the Crown Prince to death, but unfortunately, the Crown Prince was too cautious. However, the situation is different now. The Crown Prince is now in charge of government affairs. He is the most senior person after my father. If I leave again, he will let down all his guard and relax all his vigilance..."

Ji Jiafu bowed silently.

Li Zhi didn't look at him, but lowered his head and said through gritted teeth, "No one is infallible, and the same goes for my brother.

In his position, if he made a mistake, the only one who could correct him was his father... If he listened, that would be fine. If he didn't listen, he would inevitably conflict with his father.

By then, if someone in the harem says something and stirs up trouble..."

In that case, even if the crown prince might not necessarily be deposed, Li Zhi's opportunity would definitely come.

(End of this chapter)