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

Chapter 344: Xue Rengui, the Right Guard General, Guards Xuanwu Gate (Part )

In the Taiji Hall, the Minister of War, Duke of Ying, Li Ji, who was wearing a purple round-necked robe, had a tall stature and a weather-beaten face, and knelt on the ground.

The ministers stood on the upper left, and Xiao Yu opened the imperial edict and said loudly: "... I am a man of high rank and generous honors, I value virtue and modesty, and I will use the ancient classics.

The Minister of War, Duke of England, is a man of great talent and vision, with a noble demeanor. He has long been expected to meet the emperor and has always been loyal to him.

Xuanliyun began to make great achievements in the frontier areas; he pacified Jingyang in the south and cleared Shasai in the north. His imperial power spread far and wide and his achievements were successful.

He can be promoted to the position of Vice-Chancellor and in charge of the Ministry of Personnel.

His honors remained the same, and he was also given a thousand pieces of silk.

Admire this! "

Li Ji bowed deeply to the emperor on the steps and said, "Your Majesty, I, your servant, Li Ji, obey your command. I thank you for your great grace. May your Majesty live forever!"

"My dear minister, please stand up. I will entrust you with the future troubles of my family." The emperor raised his hand slightly and looked at Xiao Yu sideways.

Xiao Yu bowed gently, then picked up another imperial edict and handed it to Li Ji.

Li Ji stood up, took the imperial edict from Xiao Yu's hand, unfolded it, and said loudly: "In the past, the leader of the Wei Shu people was dismissed from office for being a minister; the ancestor of Liu Shibang abdicated from the position of Three Dukes.

Therefore, we should carefully examine the normal divisions of going and staying, maintain the plan from beginning to end, successfully withdraw, and achieve perfection.

Gao Shilian, the Prince's Grand Tutor and Duke of Shen.

Xiao Yu, the Minister of the Interior and Duke of Song.

You are old and your muscles are weak. Now I have ordered the relevant authorities to exempt you from the court duties. After years of hard work, you are now allowed to return home in glory.

Promoted to the rank of guardian and tutor, forever demonstrating the righteousness between monarch and subject.

Gao Shilian was specially granted the title of Prince Taibao, and Xiao Yu was granted the title of Prince Taifu, and they were actually granted 800 households.

If there is a major event, we must discuss it together.

He sent another courtier to inquire at the house.

Admire this! "

Gao Shilian and Xiao Yu walked into the hall with solemn expressions and bowed solemnly to the ground: "Your Majesty, we thank you for your great grace. May your Majesty live forever."

Li Shimin sat on the imperial couch, looking at Gao Shilian and Xiao Yu with a complicated expression, and raised his hand slightly and said, "Stand up."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Gao Shilian and Xiao Yu stood up, their faces blooming with joy.

……

Li Chengqian stood on the third step of Danbi, watching this scene, his eyes still calm.

Gao Shilian and Xiao Yu are both the most loyal to Your Majesty.

However, apart from the emperor, the two were the most loyal to him.

Even Gao Shilian would argue with Your Majesty over some unimportant matters.

As for Xiao Yu, he was an old minister of Emperor Gaozu, and the emperor had always been somewhat wary of him.

Now that the two of them have retired, there are only six prime ministers left in the government hall: Zhangsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling, Yang Shidao, Li Ji, Chu Suiliang and Yu Zhining.

Although it seems that two prime ministers close to the Eastern Palace are missing, in fact, Li Ji was born as the Prince's Left Guard, Yu Zhining was born as the Prince's Secretary, and there was also Fang Xuanling.

Li Chengqian has already gained half of the power he controls in the Council of State, which is enough to compete with the power controlled by the emperor.

Of course, if they were to fight face to face, Li Chengqian would definitely be defeated miserably.

However, Li Chengqian would only use this power, especially Fang Xuanling, at the last and most critical moment.

By then, with him, they will be able to form an overwhelming force in the Political Affairs Hall and change the world.

A hint of a smile flashed across Li Chengqian's lips.

The emperor had some doubts about all this before, actually it was because of Ma Zhou.

Now the emperor promoted Yang Shidao to be Shangshu You Pushe, and appointed Zhangsun Wuji as the Inspector of the Central Secretariat.

In this way, the prime minister of the Secretariat is still in office, so Chu Suiliang does not need to move. In this way, Ma Zhou, the secretary of the Secretariat, naturally has no chance to participate in government affairs.

Once Ma Zhou is allowed to enter the Council of State, Li Chengqian will hold more than half of the positions in the Council of State.

If something happens, even the emperor will be worried day and night.

After all, Li Ji was a surrendered general!

Therefore, what the emperor was really worried about was that this time, Li Chengqian was secretly manipulating behind the scenes and trying to push Ma Zhou into the government hall.

These people would be fine under normal circumstances.

The key is what happens if something happens.

But in fact, Li Chengqian did not have this idea. In fact, the later Ma Zhou entered the government hall, the better.

Ma Zhou's health wasn't very good. He became prime minister two years prior in his previous life, but died of diabetes after just four years due to overwork. Today, Ma Zhou's health is good, and with Li Chengqian's advice, he's also paying attention to his diet. Therefore, living a few more years shouldn't be a problem.

There are also Xiao Yu, Wei Zheng, Gao Shilian...

As for these old ministers who died of illness for various reasons in their previous lives, Li Chengqian would rather they retire from the court now and stop working hard, and let them live a few more years.

Therefore, although the emperor had some doubts about Li Chengqian, after some investigation and testing, he found that he really did not take many actions, so he felt relieved.

Li Ji stood to the upper left of the ministers, picked up the imperial edict again, and read aloud: "...The post of Sima of the Ministry of War, an official subordinate to the Minister of Calligraphy, was not given lightly in ancient times, and it is difficult to find the right person nowadays.

Cui Dunli, the Grand Master of Silver and Green and the Assistant Minister of War, has been ambitious and dedicated since his early years in Guangdong, and has worked hard from north to south.

Therefore, he was granted the post of Minister of War, in charge of the Nine Laws of Xi and the Six Armies, and he must be in charge of both.

All other matters remain the same. I hereby order you."

Cui Dunli, the assistant minister of the Ministry of War, stepped forward solemnly and kowtowed heavily to the ground: "Your Majesty, I, Cui Dunli, thank you for your great grace. May your Majesty live forever."

"Please stand up." Li Shimin looked at Cui Dunli, nodded slightly, and said, "The Ministry of War is in charge of military selection, maps, chariots, and armor and weapons. I will trouble you in the future."

Cui Renshi, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue, stood in the queue, his expression a little gloomy for a moment.

Cui Dunli has now been promoted to the Minister of War, which means that for a long time to come, Cui Renshi will no longer have the opportunity to become the Minister.

For him, the best solution now is to be transferred to a provincial post as a provincial governor. However, the biggest blow to him is that Cui Dunli is currently the Minister of War. If Cui Dunli becomes the Prime Minister in the future, Cui Renshi will be completely suppressed.

Not to mention the emperor, even Zhangsun Wuji would not allow the Cui family of Boling to produce two ministers of the six ministries at the same time, let alone two prime ministers.

So Cui Renshi must either accept his fate or...

Cui Renshi raised his eyes slightly, glanced at the two brothers Li Chengqian and Li Zhi, and then quickly retracted them.

……

Li Zhi did not notice Cui Renshi's gaze.

Today is the day of reward for the army after returning from the northern expedition.

Civil officials had already been rewarded and appointed on New Year's Day.

Today begins with the military generals, the first of whom is Li Ji, who was promoted from Minister of War to Prime Minister and was also in charge of the Ministry of Personnel.

Next, Cui Dunli, the assistant minister of the Ministry of War, was promoted to the Minister of War, then Han Yuan, the secretary of the Central Secretariat, was promoted to the assistant minister of the Ministry of War, Du Xing, the secretary of the Central Secretariat, was promoted to the assistant minister of the Imperial Court, Liu Rengui, the magistrate of Xin'an County, was transferred to the secretary of the Central Secretariat, Liu Shi, the assistant censor, was promoted to the secretary of the Central Secretariat, Li Yiyan, the magistrate of Jinyang County, was transferred to the Imperial Secretary, Gao Zhizhou, the secretary, was transferred to the Imperial Censor…

Move in sequence.

As for military generals, Li Zhi really cared about two people.

Su Dingfang, the General of the Left Jinwu Guard, was transferred to the position of General of the Right Tunwei Guard.

Guerrilla General Xue Rengui was transferred to the position of General of the Right Guard and stationed at Xuanwu Gate.

Not only Li Zhi, but all the ministers could not help but look at Xue Rengui when they heard that the emperor had appointed several people to guard Xuanwu Gate.

Xue Rengui on white horse and silver spear.

Li Zhi glanced at Xue Rengui calmly and began to ponder secretly in his heart.

Su Dingfang had a close relationship with the Eastern Palace, and he even had a certain blood relationship with the Crown Princess, while Xue Rengui emerged completely from the Liaodong battlefield.

However, he and Li Zhi's Jin Wang military officer Xue Yuanchao were brothers of the same clan.

Li Zhi didn't dare to think about anything now, but if he really had the opportunity in the future, it would not be impossible for him to let Xue Yuanchao contact Xue Rengui and act suddenly.

The emperor sat on the imperial couch, watching the civil and military officials kneeling on the ground, and nodded with satisfaction.

His gaze fell on the steps of the Danbi, where Li Chengqian, Li Zhi and Li Xiang stood solemnly.

Yes, there is Li Xiang.

When the ministers saw Li Xiang today, they were also a little surprised.

But after thinking about it, Li Xiang is now the crown prince, and it seems that he is also qualified to stand in the court.

……

After the imperial edict was read, the emperor looked at his ministers and said, "During the previous eastern expedition and this northern expedition, you have all worked hard, and the soldiers in the army have also suffered a lot. I hereby issue an order to exempt all of Chang'an and Luoyang from curfew for five days to celebrate the great victory!"

"Your Majesty, we thank you for your grace!" All the ministers bowed together, then stood up and returned to their ranks.

Li Shimin turned to look at Li Chengqian and said, "Prince, this year the north and south are peaceful, so the priority is to rest and recuperate. Soldiers in the army should be rotated and given holidays!"

"Your son obeys the order!" Li Chengqian bowed seriously. He knew that the emperor was telling him that the previous calculations could begin.

"Also, regarding this year's imperial examination, how are your preparations going?"

"Your Majesty, the registration for the imperial examination will close in five days. The number of applicants is higher than in previous years." Li Chengqian bowed with joy and said, "I see quite a few talented people among them. Congratulations, Your Majesty."

The emperor waved his hand and said, "There's nothing to congratulate. This is just the first imperial examination in three years. If you prepare everything properly, you'll have more students admitted."

"Yes!" Li Chengqian and Tang Jian bowed together.

"Also, the enthronement ceremony for the Crown Prince on March 17th must be properly prepared," the emperor gave additional instructions.

"Yes!" Li Chengqian's expression became serious.

"Okay, let's stop here for today and adjourn the court." The emperor raised his head slightly.

All the ministers in the hall bowed and said, "We respectfully send your Majesty off."

Only after the emperor left did Li Chengqian breathe a sigh of relief. He turned sideways to look at his son Li Xiang, then walked over, took Li Xiang's little hand, and walked out of the hall together.

When passing by Li Zhi, Li Chengqian nodded gently.

Li Zhi just watched Li Chengqian and Li Xiang leave together.

For a moment, his teeth clenched tightly.

Today, the emperor asked the crown prince Li Xiang to attend the court meeting.

Although he was standing behind him, Li Zhi knew that Li Xiang was above him in the order of succession to the throne.

Unless one day in the future the crown prince rebels, the emperor will consider Li Zhi as the successor.

Otherwise, even if the prince suddenly fell ill and died one day in the future, Li Xiang would still be the successor.

It’s not him, Li Zhi.

……

On the nineteenth day of the first lunar month, light snow was falling.

A scholar in blue came to the Ministry of Personnel.

The official in charge of registration looked at the scholar in green clothes and said with emotion while registering: "You came on time. If you had waited until tomorrow, you might not have found the person."

"Isn't it due on the 20th of the first lunar month?" the scholar in green asked in surprise.

"Yes!" The official nodded and said, "That's correct. However, starting tomorrow, only one person will be working here. The others will go to the examination hall to make arrangements."

The scholar in blue suddenly understood.

"By the way, your name is Luo Binwang. This surname is quite rare!" The official from the Ministry of Personnel looked at the household register at the back and read to himself, "Your father is Luo Luyuan, the magistrate of Bochang County in Guqing Prefecture, and your grandfather is Luo Xuezhuang, the former chief of the Right Jinwu Guard..."

"Yes!" Luo Binwang clenched his fists tightly for a moment, but then loosened them in an instant.

(End of this chapter)