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

Chapter 365 Don’t Let Luo Binwang Know (Part )

Inside the imperial carriage, Li Zhi knelt beside him.

He lowered his eyebrows and looked solemn.

Because of his father's death, Chu Suiliang had to return home to mourn. If he really had to mourn for a year, then his position in the court had to be vacant.

Then the person who replaced him must be Ma Zhou.

But Ma Zhou was the prince's confidant.

The emperor didn't distrust him, he just didn't want him to be the prime minister right now.

This will break the overall pattern of the current DPRK.

In the current government affairs hall, the two prime ministers of the Ministry of Personnel, Li Ji and Yu Zhining, bear the obvious imprint of the Eastern Palace.

The two prime ministers of the Secretariat, Zhangsun Wuji and Chu Suiliang, were clearly of one faction.

In the Secretariat, Fang Xuanling and Yang Shidao seemed to be leaning towards neither side, but at critical moments, they would basically choose to support the emperor.

Of course, exceptions may occur.

For example, Fang Xuanling was the prince regent and he was assisting in the administration of the country. The emperor was away from the court, and the two of them spent more than two years together.

During this period, someone accused Fang Xuanling of treason.

Li Ji, Yu Zhining.

Zhangsun Wuji and Chu Suiliang.

Fang Xuanling, Yang Shidao.

Once Chu Suiliang resigned from the position of prime minister due to mourning, and Ma Zhou was appointed as his replacement, the delicate balance in the court would immediately become unbalanced.

The prince's voice in the Council of State will increase significantly.

The emperor would be sidelined as a result.

Now the emperor wants Chu Suiliang to go and come back early and keep his position as prime minister so that the situation in the entire court will not be unbalanced.

But the prince did not want Chu Suiliang to come back so soon. His purpose was naturally to push Ma Zhou to the throne.

The emperor's meaning was naturally not expressed directly by the emperor, but by Changsun Wuji.

Now, Changsun Wuji has pointed out the key here. His purpose is to make the prince take a step back.

You want Ma Zhou to be the prime minister right now, why are you in such a hurry?

Is it so good to offend the emperor?

Li Zhi couldn't help but want to watch the fun.

It would be interesting if the prince and the emperor came to blows.

……

Li Chengqian looked at Zhangsun Wuji and shook his head slightly. "Uncle, although the affairs of the Secretariat are very busy, the officials there are all talented and promising people. For example, Secretary Liu Rengui, Secretary Liu Shi, Secretary Zhao Hongzhi, and especially Secretary Lai Heng, he can definitely assist the government as an inspector and censor."

Changsun Wuji was slightly stunned. Doesn’t the prince want Ma Zhou to be the prime minister now?

Li Chengqian turned to look at the emperor and said directly, "Father, Prime Minister Chu is in mourning, so let him be. There is no need to say who must be appointed as the Vice Minister of State Affairs. As long as the government is managed well, that's all that matters."

Li Shimin looked at Li Chengqian, nodded slightly, and then asked: "Then when do you think Chu Qing should be reinstated? Next year?"

"Your Majesty," Li Chengqian said, cupping his hands. "I believe this sort of thing shouldn't be timed based on the individual. The purpose of mourning is to fulfill filial piety. Three years became one, and one year became half a year. If this becomes a custom, how will future generations speak of filial piety in the Tang Dynasty?"

The ministers in the hall couldn't help but breathe lighter. It seemed that the Crown Prince not only disapproved of mourning for half a year, but even a whole year, and he also had some complaints.

The emperor waved his hand and said, "Go on."

"I believe we should act according to the circumstances." Li Chengqian looked at the emperor and said with a folded hand, "If there is something urgent at court that requires Prime Minister Chu's return, then he should be allowed to return to court immediately, if not six months from now, even tomorrow. But if there is nothing urgent, then he should be allowed to stay in Hangzhou until now, which is also appropriate."

Li Zhi frowned, he didn't quite understand what Li Chengqian meant.

Doesn’t the prince still want Chu Suiliang to observe mourning for his father for a year?

He could even extend this time to three years.

Unless there is something going on in the court.

Will something happen in the court?

What kind of major event would be worthy of the emperor bringing Chu Suiliang back?
Before Li Zhi could figure it out, the emperor spoke.

"Your Highness is right. This is what we should do." The emperor nodded with a smile, looked at Zhangsun Wuji, and said, "Let's do this. Let Lai Heng, the Inspector General, take on some of Chu Qing's responsibilities."

"Yes!" Changsun Wuji reacted and nodded to Li Chengqian with a smile.

Li Chengqian bowed lightly.

The emperor turned to look at Li Zhi and said, "Zhi Nu, you did a good job governing Jingzhou last year. You must continue to work hard this year and don't let me down."

"I understand, son." Li Zhi bowed slightly.

"I have taught you everything I should have taught you in the past few months." Li Shimin looked at Li Zhi deeply, then waved his hand and said, "Okay, go ahead."

"Your son will take his leave. Take care, father." Li Zhi knelt down and kowtowed three times to the emperor. Then he stood up and bowed to Li Chengqian, Zhangsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling and others. He glanced at Li Xiang one last time, and then turned around and left.

Changsun Wuji looked at Li Zhi's back, lowered his head slightly, and a trace of sadness flashed in his eyes.

Wu Meiniang was sitting behind the emperor. When she saw this scene, she felt a sudden pang in her heart.

No, no.

Something went wrong.

……

The horses' hooves galloped, and the dusk was rippling.

Li Zhi, draped in a black cape, had rushed all the way from Chang'an City. He raised his head slightly and looked towards the post station in the small town of Tongguan. At the entrance of the post station, the postmaster, the postman, and Ji Jiafu were all standing in front of the post station waiting.

Ji Jiafu arrived at Tongguan one step ahead of Li Zhi and settled down in a place to live.

In the study, Li Zhi stood in front of the window, watching his guards tightly surround the entire backyard, and he finally felt relaxed.

"Lord Luo, I'm a little confused. My brother said that Prime Minister Chu could only be reinstated when something major was happening, and Father seemed very pleased." Li Zhi turned to look at Prince Luo Bin, who was standing in the back of the room, frowning and asking, "Don't say Father just finds something major to say. The officials in this court are not blind."

Although Wei Zheng has retired, people like Yu Zhining, Li Baiyao, and Zhang Xuansu are still there.

If the emperor really wanted to do something wrong, it would definitely not be easy for them to impeach him.

And there is also the crown prince. From what happened today, we can see that the crown prince is not so easy to talk to.

Luo Binwang bowed slightly and said, "Your Highness may have missed the point. First, the Crown Prince has no intention of forcing Ma Zhou to be Prime Minister. Your Majesty should rest assured. Then, let's talk about Prime Minister Chu. Your Majesty is truly relieved that the Crown Prince has figured out a truth."

"What's the point?"

"As a monarch, you sometimes have to bear the blame for your subjects." Luo Binwang bowed and said, "Even if Your Majesty forcibly summons Prime Minister Chu back to court, the court officials will only impeach Your Majesty, not Prime Minister Chu."

Li Zhi couldn't help but be stunned.

"If you set a date for Prime Minister Chu's return today, then Your Majesty will be placing Prime Minister Chu in an unjust position. The court officials will only accuse him of being unfilial and refusing to leave. If Your Majesty is reinstated for some reason, then you will bear the responsibility." Luo Binwang looked at Li Zhi and shook his head. "If the Crown Prince can understand this, it is very likely that he will be the one to request Prime Minister Chu's return in the future."

A chill inexplicably enveloped Li Zhi's whole body. He slowly raised his head and looked at Luo Binwang's face full of disbelief.

"Your Highness, the Crown Prince has mastered the art of winning people's hearts. Your Highness needs to act quickly on the Hangzhou matter. Once the Crown Prince submits a petition to summon Prime Minister Chu back to the court in the fall, not only Prime Minister Chu, but all the officials in the court, and even Your Majesty, will be more satisfied with the Crown Prince."

Li Zhi took a deep breath and said, "I understand."

"Of course, there's also Your Majesty." Luo Binwang sneered softly and said, "Although Your Majesty has appointed the Crown Prince as Regent, Your Majesty is extremely wary of him. The incident with Prime Minister Chu is clear evidence of this... If Your Majesty truly trusted the Crown Prince, why would he insist on maintaining a balance in the Council of State? If he could take advantage of this..."

The emperor is the one with the greatest power in Chang'an City. Now, he is using and guarding against the prince. He trusts him, but that's all.

The most important thing was that the prince showed that he was not in a hurry to seize power, which made the emperor feel at ease.

But being at ease doesn't mean the emperor is not on guard against the prince.

Where there is defense, there are means. If you understand the emperor's means, it will not be difficult to depose the prince.

"I understand." Li Zhi breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Luo Binwang and asked, "How are the arrangements for Chang'an City going?"

"The sons of Zuo Kuangzheng, General of the Left Jinwu Guard, and Tian Renhui, General of the Right Jinwu Guard, often quarrel with each other in Pingkangfang, and even fight with each other. However, because their father is the general of the Left and Right Jinwu Guards, and most of the things happen in Pingkangfang, no one cares." Luo Binwang bowed slightly.

Who cares about the fight that happened in Pingkangfang?

"Your Highness, if necessary, then one of them will die." After a brief pause, Luo Binwang said, "However, I suggest that if one of them must die, it is best to kill Tian Renhui's son. Because if Zuo Kuangzheng's son dies, Tian Renhui will most likely kill his own son to pay for Zuo Kuangzheng's son's life."

Li Zhi was slightly stunned, then he had to nod in agreement.

Tian Renhui is a man who can bend and stretch. If something real might implicate him, he would really kill his son to save his own life.

However, if his son died, he would take advantage of the situation, make a big deal out of it, and then force Zuo Kuangzheng.

"Although Duke Dai may not love his son as if his life were his, he won't give in so easily, not to mention the old grudge between the two of them." After a brief pause, Luo Binwang continued, "If at this time, I tell Duke Dai about Gongsun Chang's visits to the Tian residence, and he submits a memorial..."

"Tian Ren will go crazy." Li Zhi nodded and said, "Then he will have no way out."

"Yes!" Luo Binwang bowed and said, "Your Highness has the only option left... Now it all depends on when Your Highness plans to initiate this matter."

"The Emperor mentioned it today. Next May will be the 30th anniversary of the founding of the Tang Dynasty. He will offer sacrifices to the heaven, earth, the country and the ancestral tombs. So, before that, the Emperor should go to Cuiwei Palace to recuperate to ensure that he is in the best health during the sacrifice. April is rainy, and it is inevitable that he will be tired. So, let's do it in April next year." Li Zhi nodded slightly to Luo Binwang.

"Yes, then I will prepare to go." Luo Binwang bowed slightly.

"Carefully infiltrate some personnel within the Mingde Gate south of Chang'an. The rest will be deployed along the road from Mingde Gate to Cuiwei Palace." After a brief pause, Li Zhi added, "Also, prepare a group of personnel outside Cuiwei Palace. We'll need them to go up the mountain at a critical moment."

"Yes!" Luo Binwang immediately bowed, then he looked up and said, "Your Highness, if that's the case, we don't have enough manpower in Chang'an. We need to transfer more people from Jingzhou, Luoyang, and Taiyuan."

"No." Li Zhi waved his hand and said, "If the manpower in these three places is really insufficient by next year, I'm afraid my brother will be very wary. So we must find a way to transfer available manpower from outside these three places... Luo Qing, I have a plan."

"Your Highness, please speak."

"This winter, come to Chang'an to register for next year's imperial examination, and bring some of your own men with you." Li Zhi looked at Luo Binwang and said, "The emperor is very fond of you and may want to meet you. If you can stay with him..."

"I understand." Luo Binwang nodded slightly and said thoughtfully, "Even if the Crown Prince doesn't trust me, I can still find out something in time."

"That's right." Li Zhi looked at Luo Binwang and smiled, saying, "I'm sorry to have troubled you, Mr. Luo."

"This is what I should do."

……

Luo Binwang's figure disappeared into the corner of the courtyard wall.

Li Zhi stood in front of the window and watched Luo Binwang leave calmly.

A moment later, Ji Jiafu came in and bowed, "Your Highness, he's gone."

Li Zhi nodded and said, "He can do his thing, and you can do yours. How are the preparations going at the Lishan Hot Spring Palace?"

Ji Jiafu's expression grew solemn, and he saluted, saying, "Your Majesty has not been to Mount Li for several years, and the internal and external forces have become quite lax. Many of our people have been transferred there in the past two years."

"Have someone keep an eye on the road from Chunming Gate in the east of the city to the Hot Spring Palace, and hide on both sides of the official road." Li Zhi's voice sounded faintly.

"Yes!" Ji Jiafu's mouth twitched slightly.

"Be careful, don't let Luo Binwang know about this." Li Zhi looked at Ji Jiafu and said, "Use our Taiyuan people, my father-in-law's people, and Jingzhou's people. Don't use them."

"Yes!" Ji Jiafu bowed slightly.

Li Zhi sighed and waved his hand, saying, "It's not that I don't trust Luo Binwang, but in this matter of life and death, only our own people can be trusted. Anyone else, even the slightest possibility of betrayal, must not be made aware of it. Do you understand?"

"Yes!" Ji Jiafu looked solemn.

Li Zhi turned and looked in the direction of the Lishan Hot Spring Palace, and the flickering candlelight fell on his face from behind.

Half side is bright, half side is dark.

(End of this chapter)