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

Chapter 352: A Left Guard General Without Real Power (Part )
In the Eastern Palace, Zhang Xuansu, Lai Ji, Dou Dexuan, Li Yifu, Feng Yandao, Gao Zhenxing, Zhang Da'an, Cen Changqian and more than a dozen others came out of the Chongjiao Hall, talking in low voices, all with solemn expressions.

The emperor ordered Fang Xuanling to go home and reflect on his mistakes. If his mistakes were unavoidable, he would not be allowed to return to the court.

This was tantamount to dismissing Fang Xuanling from his position as prime minister in disguise.

why?
Why did the emperor do this? He was the prime minister and the minister of the left, and an important official in the court for decades.

It couldn't be that it was just a small matter that the Goguryeo envoy had arrived in Luoyang and the emperor was unaware of it.

Some say this is no small matter.

This time it was an envoy from Goguryeo, but what if it was the Goguryeo army next time? The consequences would be unimaginable.

But before he could finish his words, others directly refuted him, saying that if it was really the Goguryeo army, it would be impossible for him to land in the Tang Dynasty.

Some people also said that the emperor had other plans for Goguryeo.

Now that they suddenly appeared before him, the emperor was caught off guard, so in anger he ordered Fang Xuanling to reflect on his mistakes behind closed doors.

However, none of the ministers fully agreed with these speculations, and they all had their own ideas.

However, in the end, even they could not figure out why the emperor did this.

An internal meeting of the Eastern Palace ended without any results.

At this moment, a burst of hurried footsteps came from the Chongjiao Gate. The ministers looked up and saw the son-in-law and Left Guard General Du He, dressed in armor, walking in from outside the door.

When the ministers saw Du He, they all bowed slightly.

Du He quickly returned the greeting, but without saying anything, he walked into the Chongjiao Hall with an anxious look on his face.

……

Seeing Chang Sunxiang standing beside Li Chengqian, Du He paused, then bowed with a smile on his face and said, "Cousin."

Du He was the son-in-law of Princess Chengyang. When Princess Chengyang was a child, she was also raised by Changsun Xiang for several years.

"Prince consort!" Chang Sunxiang bowed to Du He in return, then looked at Li Chengqian and said, "Your Highness, I will leave first."

"Go ahead." Li Chengqian waved his hand slightly, and Changsun Xiang quickly left.

At this time, Li Chengqian looked at Du He helplessly and said, "Why are you here so suddenly? Don't forget, you are now the General of the Left Guard."

"He's just a Left Guard General with no real power." Du He waved his hand indifferently, then sat down next to Li Chengqian. He then looked at him with a smile and said, "Your Majesty, I saw Fang Er today. He suddenly rushed home in a hurry, looking very nervous. I greeted him, but he ignored me."

"Prime Minister Fang was suddenly ordered by our father to reflect on his mistakes behind closed doors. Fang Er couldn't figure out the reason, so he was naturally anxious to go home." Li Chengqian shook his head calmly.

"Let alone Fang Er, even I can't figure this out right now... Eh!" Du He raised his head, looked at Li Chengqian, and asked uncertainly, "Does Your Highness know the reason behind this?"

Li Chengqian picked up the teapot and poured a cup for Du He. Then he looked up and said, "Erlang, I will teach you this once today. In this life, I may only teach you this once, so you must remember every word I say."

Du He suddenly became serious and said, "Yes!"

……

Li Chengqian raised his head, looked to the side, and said calmly: "Everyone, get out."

"Yes!" In the shadows of the hall, behind the curtains, all the eunuchs, palace maids, guards, and secret guards all left the hall.

Seeing this scene, Du He was surprised.

He saw it clearly just now. There were clearly only two or three people in the hall. How come there were suddenly so many people?

"You can't just look at Prime Minister Fang's situation from his perspective." Li Chengqian picked up his teacup, took a sip, and then said, "Prime Minister Fang has been ordered to reflect on his mistakes behind closed doors. Erlang, I want to ask you, where in the court has the greatest impact as a result of this?"

"The one with the greatest influence in the court." Du He raised his head slightly and then said, "It's the Secretariat... If we're talking about the person, it must be Fang Er, but the place must be the Secretariat."

Li Chengqian nodded calmly and said, "Yes, it's the Secretariat. Prime Minister Fang was the Minister of Works and the Inspector of the Left. Now that Prime Minister Fang has been ordered to reflect on his mistakes, who is in charge of the Secretariat now?"

"The Right Minister of the Secretariat, and the Duke of Ande County." Du He's face suddenly darkened.

Since Fang Xuanling was not around, Yang Shidao was naturally the main person in charge of the Secretariat.

"Then I'll ask you again, who will benefit most from Prime Minister Yang being in charge of the Secretariat?" Li Chengqian raised his head slightly.

"King Jin?" Du He couldn't help but say it out loud.

Li Chengqian was speechless and waved his hand gently: "Although Yang Xiang and Zhi Nu are related, they are not close to each other. There is not even any private contact between Yang Xiang and Zhi Nu. At the same time, Yang Xiang's relationship with the East Palace is also ordinary..."

"Your Majesty!" Du He finally figured it out. Yang Shidao had a neutral position in the court, which meant that he only listened to the emperor.

"Yes, Father!" Li Chengqian turned his head and looked outside the palace. He sighed softly and said, "Prime Minister Fang has been in charge of the Secretariat for who knows how many years. Even for my uncle, it is not easy to intervene in the Secretariat. So if Father wants to take over the Secretariat, then naturally he must first remove Prime Minister Fang..."

"Your Highness!" Du He suddenly looked up and looked at Li Chengqian in surprise.

He now finally understood who the emperor was targeting when he suddenly asked Fang Xuanling to go home and reflect on his mistakes.

The person he was targeting was the person in front of Du He.

The crown prince who served as regent for more than four years.

During the four years, the prince devoted himself to the government affairs. Who knows how many people's hearts he won in the court.

Who knows how many people have become the prince's confidants.

The emperor was indeed a wise and powerful Khan who dominated the world, but he was old.

Visibly aged.

Even if court officials do not consider the present, they still need to consider the future.

And the prince, he is the prince.

He was the most legitimate heir chosen by the emperor himself.

What's wrong with others placing some bets on the prince now?

Sometimes, some people are even willing to oppose the emperor.

If the emperor wants to take over power again, the person he cannot avoid is the crown prince.

……

Li Chengqian picked up the teapot and poured himself a cup, then said calmly, "I believe that not only I can see the intention of my father's move, but also my uncle, and Prime Minister Fang and Prime Minister Yang..."

"But why?" Du He didn't know why, but he felt a tightness in his chest. He looked at Li Chengqian and asked, "Your Highness, why is it so? His Majesty controls the world. If he wants it, he can just take it directly... or just abolish it..." "Look, even you are hesitant." Li Chengqian shook his head with a smile and said, "If your father wants to take control of the government again, my right to listen to government affairs must be abolished. I am naturally willing to do so, but not everyone in the court thinks so. Maybe there will be some fool who can't see the situation clearly and report it to your father..."

What should I report to the emperor? I should report to the emperor not to take over the government.

There will definitely be such fools.

It doesn't even necessarily mean he's a fool.

Li Chengqian raised his head slightly and looked at Du He.

Du He twitched slightly, then subconsciously lowered his head.

Indeed, this is what he was thinking just now.

The prince has handled state affairs extremely well in recent years, and the harmony between the upper and lower levels is no less than the years when the emperor personally took charge of the government.

So, just now, Du He couldn't help but wonder why the emperor didn't continue like this and leave the government affairs completely to the prince, and just focus on recuperating?

"When that time really comes, what should be done with that person? Kill him or demote him?" Li Chengqian said lightly, and Du He's face turned slightly pale.

Li Chengqian waved his hand and said, "So, let's just say Father first has Prime Minister Fang reflect on his mistakes behind closed doors, and the power of the Secretariat is concentrated in Prime Minister Yang's hands. Then I will submit a petition to resign from the imperial court, and this matter will be over."

Du He nodded silently, but soon he looked up in surprise: "Your Highness submitted a petition to resign from the imperial court. Isn't this obviously an attack on Your Highness..."

The emperor wanted to take back power, so he found a minor crime for Fang Xuanling to reflect on his mistakes in seclusion, and also asked the prince to write a letter of resignation himself.

This is a bit too much.

This is not a slap in Li Chengqian's face, this is letting Li Chengqian slap himself in the face.

Li Chengqian waved his hand calmly and said, "You're overthinking it. I just need to get sick and use that as an excuse to resign."

Du He raised his eyebrows, then bowed respectfully and said, "Your Highness is wise."

Li Chengqian put down his teacup, looked at Du He, and said, "That's it for this time. In a few days, Fang Xiang will return. This time should not be later than the end of the year... And to be honest, both Fang Xiang and I should take a break."

The world itself belongs to the emperor.

It was just because the emperor had been fighting wars in the past few years and had been recuperating due to illness. The court officials were used to the prince handling state affairs, so the emperor was a little uncomfortable with taking back power for a while.

Naturally, there will be some people here who are not used to making a few complaints.

However, if this kind of complaint falls on the imperial power, it may be fatal.

The emperor was wise enough to foresee all this in advance, and then he and Li Chengqian worked together tacitly to put an end to this matter.

"If you hadn't asked me today, I wouldn't have said so much." Li Chengqian turned serious and said to Du He, "So some things may seem earth-shattering and shocking at the moment, but in the context of the overall situation, they are the most appropriate and beneficial to everyone. Do you understand?"

Du He immediately stood up and said, "I understand."

Li Chengqian gestured for Du He to sit down before continuing, "You're not young anymore, and you and Chengyang already have children. I'd like to ask you, what do you think of your future?"

"The future?" Du He was slightly stunned.

"You are now a third-rank General of the Left Guard, but you just said that you are a General of the Left Guard without any real power... In fact, neither my father nor I can let you have actual military power, unless you ask to go to the front of the army yourself?" Li Chengqian looked straight at Du He.

Du He smiled awkwardly, then quickly shook his head.

"So, you can't be a Left Guard General without actual military power for your entire life. You must eventually transition from military to civilian." Li Chengqian shook his head and said, "You are currently a third-rank Left Guard General. If you want to transition to a civilian position, I and the Emperor wouldn't even allow you to directly become a Governor of a lower prefecture below the fourth rank. At most, you could become a Junior Secretary of the Nine Temples."

Yes, it is impossible to be the Junior Secretary of the Nine Temples or even the Vice Minister of the Six Ministries.

"After you have gained experience as the Junior Minister of the Nine Temples for three to five years, I will send you to be the Governor of a lower state to see how you perform. If you are successful, I will transfer you back to be the Vice Minister of the Six Ministries, or the Minister of the Nine Temples, or even the Minister of Rites." Li Chengqian looked at Du He seriously.

Du He smiled and nodded, "Your Highness, I am still able to serve as the Minister of Rites. Thank you very much, Your Highness."

"The Minister of Rites isn't that easy to be. Look at King Jiangxia, he's been fighting wars all over the country. You don't really think it's a nominal position, do you?"

"Minister?" Du He's smile was a little forced.

Li Chengqian shook his head and said, "And that's the best-case scenario. If you can't even do the job of a provincial governor, then you should be transferred back to the Zongzheng Temple and serve as its Shaoqing for the rest of your life."

Du He is the consort of Princess Chengyang. No one will be able to say anything if Li Chengqian gives him the position of Shaoqing of the Zongzheng Temple in the future.

The Shaoqing of the Zongzheng Temple is the person with the least real power. Look at the former Shaoqing of the Zongzheng Temple, Dou Dan. Although he was the son-in-law of Princess Xiangyang, he also served as the General of the Right Guard and the Shaoqing of the Zongzheng Temple, and was granted the title of Duke. However, the entire Fufeng Dou family is now becoming less and less influential in the court.

Although the Jingzhao Du family is now full of talented people, to be honest, the two brothers Du Gou and Du He are the most valued in terms of future prospects.

Du Gou is now the governor of Cizhou, and his political achievements are quite good. Apart from anything else, he will definitely become a minister of one of the six ministries in the future, and even a prime minister.

But Du He...

"I understand." After listening to what Li Chengqian said, Du He understood that he needed to consider the future.

Especially the current situation of the emperor... The emperor is still the emperor, but it seems that he needs to think hard to regain control of the government. This shows that the prince's silent control of the government in recent years has reached a point where even the emperor has to be wary of him.

No, or to be more precise, I am powerless.

It’s hard to say how many years the emperor can last.

Once the prince ascends the throne, Du He will definitely be given an important position.

But Li Chengqian also made it very clear that he himself must have sufficient ability.

"Also, don't provoke Fang Er with this matter right now." Li Chengqian deliberately pointed out this, and then said, "Wait until the end of the year, have Chengyang invite Gaoyang over for a drink when they have time, and forget all the stupid things that happened back then."

"Yes!" Du He bowed solemnly.

"Go ahead." Li Chengqian waved his hand.

"I resign!"

……

Looking at Du He's leaving back, a trace of solemnity flashed in Li Chengqian's eyes.

In this case, although the emperor used clever means to silently transfer power back to his own hands, the detailed observations hidden here are what deserve our most vigilance.

Fang Xuanling was ordered to reflect on his mistakes behind closed doors.

Li Chengqian transferred power back to the emperor due to illness.

So what will happen to all the officials in the court, from top to bottom?
(End of this chapter)