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

Chapter 40 Li Shimin: Old buddy, you are too impatient
The morning light passed across the entire Chang'an City and shone into the backyard of the Eastern Palace.

With a creaky sound, the Cheng'en Gate opened.

Li Chengqian, dressed in a light yellow dragon robe, walked out with a calm expression, and the dozen or so guards around him immediately lowered their heads.

Li Anyan immediately stepped forward and whispered, "Your Highness, the Qianniu Guards suddenly moved last night."

"Where are our people?" Li Chengqian stopped and looked around. There were not many people in the entire inner courtyard. There were only the absolute confidants deliberately selected by Li Anyan.

"I just came back to work." Li Anyan said with a serious expression.

"That's good." Li Chengqian smiled calmly and said, "Arrange them to be on duty tonight. It will be very busy outside these few days, so they should not go out and hang around."

"Yes!" Li Anyan breathed a sigh of relief.

Li Chengqian stepped forward. Li Anyan hesitated for a moment, then followed him and whispered, "Your Highness, I don't understand how this matter, even if it ultimately hurts the Lu family, will benefit Your Highness. After all, what we are dealing with is..."

"An Yan, do you know what is the foundation of Prime Minister Fang's foothold in the court?" Li Chengqian stopped, raised his head and looked in the direction of the Secretariat.

"I know." Li Anyan bowed solemnly, "It's your majesty's trust."

"That's half right." Li Chengqian nodded gently, then said with emotion, "Prime Minister Fang has followed my father from the Prince of Qin's Palace to the Xuanwu Gate, and now to the fourteenth year of the Zhenguan period. After all, it's been many years. He has provided advice and support to the people around him, and has long earned my father's trust... However, trust is something that is difficult to obtain."

A sneer flashed across Li Chengqian's lips as he continued, "Prime Minister Fang is a clever man. Over the years, he has promoted many of his trusted aides to fill the court and the country. Of course, these people are more loyal to our father. Therefore, the last remaining foundation for Prime Minister Fang is the Fanyang Lu family."

"Lady Liang is from the Lu family of Fanyang." Li Anyan nodded seriously.

Although Lu Chengqing was the Duke of Fanyang, Fang Xuanling was the Duke of Liang, and his wife was the Lady of Liang. His influence within the Fanyang Lu family was even greater than that of Lu Chengqing.

Li Chengqian nodded calmly and said, "So, the Fanyang Lu family is the foundation of Prime Minister Fang. Prime Minister Fang is Shangshu Zuo Pushe, and Lu Chengqing is Shangshu Zuo Cheng. Is there any need to explain their relationship?"

Li Anyan nodded solemnly and said, "So we must first bring down the Duke of Fanyang."

"No!" Li Chengqian turned around and looked at Li Anyan with a serious expression, saying, "The power of the Eastern Palace is not enough to take action against the Duke of Fanyang. All we can do is make His Majesty suspicious of the Duke of Fanyang and make him afraid to approach Prime Minister Fang again. That will be enough."

The Eastern Palace is not strong enough to fight against the Lu family of Fanyang.

Li Chengqian knew very well that if he went to war with the Fanyang Lu family, the aristocratic family would resort to forceful means on him. Without the emperor's protection, Li Chengqian would be in great trouble.

The aristocratic family is the aristocratic family, and Fang Xuanling is Fang Xuanling. He can make a clear distinction between them.

"Yes!" Li Anyan immediately bowed solemnly.

"Okay, all the people have been withdrawn. We just need to wait and see how father will react, and then we will take the next step." Li Chengqian walked forward calmly.

"Yes!" Li Anyan bowed, then stood up and walked towards Chongde Hall together. He did not ask the prince what his next plan was.

He didn't need to ask, this matter was not over yet.

……

"Your Highness, this is the memorial from the Dali Temple that was just forwarded by the Secretariat." Yu Zhining handed the memorial to Li Chengqian and then returned to the team.

Li Chengqian took the memorial, took a look at it, and then raised his eyebrows. The memorial from the Dali Temple was delivered so quickly.

Is this the intention of the Dali Temple or the emperor?
Li Chengqian raised his gaze to Dai Zhide, who was standing behind the other ministers, and asked, "Mr. Dai, are you aware of this? The Dali Temple found Mr. Lu's Korean maidservant in Huaiyuanfang yesterday. However, she had been poisoned to death by Mr. Lu's cousin, Cui Qian, the magistrate of Chang'an County."

"I only learned of this after I established my palace yesterday. Although the Korean maid was poisoned by Cui Qian, Cui Qian was also killed by the Korean maid's counterattack before her death." Dai Zhide bowed and said, "I had intended to report this to Your Highness today, but I didn't expect the Dali Temple's memorial to be transferred to me."

Li Chengqian nodded, paused for a moment, and said, "I understand the Dali Temple's intentions. Lu Qing and his cousin Cui Qian died fighting over a Korean maid. This incident has nothing to do with anything else, so this matter ends here."

Li Chengqian calmly pushed the memorial forward and handed it to Yu Zhining, saying, "Everyone, please take a look. This matter is now settled in the Eastern Palace."

"Here!" The officials held their hands in awe.

"Next." Li Chengqian's expression grew serious, and he continued, "Next, the most important thing for the Eastern Palace is the editing of the 'Kaogong Zhi'. It's a very serious matter..."

……

At dusk, the twilight spread out like long steps on the avenue in front of the Taiji Palace.

Chang He walked up the golden steps with a solemn expression, then stepped over the threshold and entered the Taiji Palace.

Li Shimin, who was sitting on the imperial couch reviewing memorials, caught sight of Chang He, raised his head, looked to both sides, and said sternly, "Everyone, get out."

"Yes!" The Zhongshu Sheren, Jieshi Zhong, Zuoshi and Zuoshi, as well as all the palace maids and eunuchs behind the curtains on both sides, all retreated through the doors.

Chang He stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, the Qianniu Guards have been investigating for a day and a night, and have arrested 37 suspects, both big and small. No one has been confirmed to be the murderer, but after checking with all the relevant people, I found two things that are a little unusual." "Which two things?" Li Shimin looked indifferent.

"One is the Prince of Wei's mansion. Yesterday, Fang Yiai, who attended the mourning ceremony for Lu Hu, went to the Prince of Wei to serve as a military advisor and stayed overnight at the Prince of Wei's mansion." Chang He bowed with a solemn expression.

Li Shimin waved his hand gently and said, "It's not Qingque. They are discussing something, but not this one. What about the other one?"

"Another place is the Mansion of the Duke of Fanyang County. Last night at the beginning of the evening, a night watchman discovered someone sneaking into the Mansion of the Duke of Fanyang County. He thought it was a thief and alarmed the neighborhood guards. However, after the Mansion of the Duke of Fanyang County checked, they found nothing." Chang He bowed slightly.

"Fanyang County Duke's Mansion, Shangshu Zuocheng?" Li Shimin's brows frowned instantly.

Lu Chengqing, the Shangshu Zuocheng, is the number one person under the six ministers. How did he get involved?

Li Shimin raised his head and looked at Chang He and asked, "What do you think?"

Chang He bowed and said, “Last night, the Qianniu Guards inspected Chang’an City and the murderer of Cui Qian, the county magistrate of Chang’an. Although they gained a lot, their real target was the Koreans and the Turks.

It was precisely because of the disturbance caused by the Koreans and the Turks that the Qianniu Guards failed to catch the real murderer. Meanwhile, there was also movement in the Fanyang County Mansion, and it seemed that..."

"Clear them completely and put an end to this matter." Li Shimin nodded and said, "The Crown Prince praised Lu's loyalty yesterday. In order to settle this matter, Lu killed Cui Qian and silenced him.

From now on, no one will be able to threaten the Lu family with this matter, and the Turks are very close to Fanyang!"

Chang He bowed solemnly.

Li Shimin knocked lightly on the table.

The crown prince, Lu.

Lu, the crown prince.

After a long moment, Li Shimin, who had been pondering for a long time, looked at the memorials on the side. He picked up one and handed it to Chang He, then said, "Have the Secretariat make two copies, one for the Ministry of State Affairs and one for the Eastern Palace. Tell them that on the fifteenth day of the lunar month, I want to know their opinions on this matter."

"Yes!" Chang He's heart skipped a beat. The emperor took action.

"Remember to mix it in with other memorials." Li Shimin added at the end.

"Yes!" Chang He bowed with a serious expression.

"Go." Li Shimin waved his hand slightly, and Chang He immediately bowed and retreated.

The cold winter wind blew gently past. Li Shimin looked up at the Chang'an City outside the palace and said softly, "Old friend, you are too impatient."

……

In the Chongjiao Hall of the Eastern Palace, just as Li Chengqian was about to stand up, Li Anyan walked in quickly.

"Your Highness, the Secretariat has sent a batch of memorials, saying that they will be discussed on the fifteenth day of the lunar month." Li Anyan said as he placed a dozen memorials on the table.

Li Chengqian glanced at it, nodded, and said, "Then let's gather all the ministers to discuss it tomorrow."

"Yes!" Li Anyan bowed solemnly.

Li Chengqian opened one casually.

The ritual officials requested that the great-grandparents extend their mourning period to five months, the wife of the legitimate son should extend the mourning period, and the sister-in-law, uncle, brother's wife, husband's brother, and uncle should all wear minor mourning.

After taking a look, Li Chengqian opened the second book.

The censor reported to the Ministry of Agriculture that the price of wooden stakes was higher than that of ordinary people, and that they were hidden.

Li Chengqian was about to turn it over, but then he turned it over again and took another serious look, his eyes instantly focused.

How could this memorial appear in the East Palace?

If Li Chengqian remembered correctly, it was because of this case in his previous life that Shangshu Youcheng Wei Cong was completely ruined.

But how could it appear in the East Palace? It wasn’t there in the previous life?

Li Chengqian's expression suddenly became extremely solemn.

A storm is about to break out!
　In November, Wei Cong reported the Si Nong's wooden stakes to the emperor, claiming they were more expensive than those sold by ordinary people. The emperor summoned Sun Fujia, the Minister of Justice, and wrote a letter to Si Nong accusing him of this. Fujia replied, "Si Nong is not guilty." The emperor was surprised and asked why. He replied, "It is simply because the official stakes are expensive that the private stakes are cheaper. If the official stakes were cheaper, the private stakes would not have been cheaper. I see that Si Nong understands the general situation and does not see his fault." The emperor realized his mistake and repeatedly praised his merits. Turning to Wei Cong, he said, "Your knowledge and ability are far inferior to Fujia's."

　　
　
(End of this chapter)