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

Chapter 456: Putting the Beast of Guanlong Clan into a Cage (Part )
"Are you using Li Jing to check and balance your uncle?"

Li Shimin leaned on a soft cushion, with the secret memorials sent by Li Jing, Zhang Shigui and Liu Rengui placed on his knees.

After listening to what Li Chengqian said, he saw through Li Chengqian's plan at a glance.

"I guess so." Li Chengqian nodded. He leaned against the bed, looked up at everything in Ganlu Palace, and said softly, "Duke Weiguo is a general in the army. He has served as Minister of Justice, Minister of War, Minister of the Central Secretariat, and Minister of the Right. He has a lot of experience and prestige in the army. With him around, it will be difficult for my uncle to interfere with the military power."

If he does not interfere with military power, no matter how great Zhangsun Wuji's prestige in the court is, he can still control it and prevent it from becoming unbalanced.

"Checks and balances are the key to long-term stability." Li Chengqian tilted his head and looked at Li Shimin. "This son also learned this from my father."

Li Shimin looked calm and asked, "But why? Why do you want to check and balance your uncle? Did he do something?"

Li Chengqian was silent for a long time, and finally told the truth: "It was Liu Shi. My uncle arranged for Liu Shi to be the Minister of Personnel."

"He wants Liu Shi to be the Minister of Personnel?" Li Shimin couldn't help but frown.

"Your Majesty is truly wise. He saw through my uncle's intentions at a glance." Li Chengqian smiled, then said with a gloomy expression, "The Duke of Ju is already seventy years old. He must either advance to become Prime Minister or retire in a year or two."

As soon as Tang Jian, the Minister of Personnel, retired, Liu Shi was immediately recommended by Zhangsun Wuji to be the Minister of Personnel.

"As for Liu Shi, I have my own arrangements." Li Chengqian shook his head slightly. He was the emperor, and he must have his own plans for a minister, but Changsun Wuji interrupted this plan.

Although he accepted the arrangement, he felt uncomfortable.

Li Shimin then asked, "Do you want Liu Shi to be the Minister of the Central Secretariat?"

Li Chengqian smiled and nodded, "His qualifications are insufficient, Father. Liu Shi has served as a military officer in Yongzhou, a censor, a secretary in the Secretariat, and now as a minister in the Ministry of Personnel. His career has been smooth, but he has no experience in local affairs and doesn't know much about many local affairs. If he were a minister in the Secretariat or a minister in the Imperial Court, his responsibilities might be lighter, but a minister in the Ministry of Personnel..."

The Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel was in charge of the transfer of countless officials throughout the country.

One mistake may very likely lead to the collapse of a state's administration and people's livelihood.

This is what Li Chengqian doesn't want to see.

"Even the Vice Minister of Personnel has to preside over the imperial examinations. His bias can affect the selection and appointment of an entire group of officials, or even a whole generation of officials." Li Chengqian shook his head and said solemnly, "The problem here is huge."

"So, you have started to check and balance your uncle?" Li Shimin looked at Li Chengqian gently.

Li Chengqian fell silent, and finally said, "Father, Liu Shi is Concubine Lan's uncle. I will be very cautious in using him."

Li Shimin now finally understood what Li Chengqian was afraid of.

Changsun Wuji is a relative of the emperor himself, and now he is manipulating the official transfers of the relatives of the concubines in the palace. No wonder Li Chengqian's sensitive heart was touched.

Shaking his head, Li Shimin asked, "Then aren't you worried about Li Jing? He's the governor of Xichang Prefecture, the chief commander of the Northwest Military Road, and a minister of state. He can mobilize nearly 100,000 troops both inside and outside the country."

Li Chengqian shook his head and said, "I'm not worried, Father. The Duke of Wei is already seventy-eight this year. Even Sima Yi only lived to be seventy-two. Moreover, Xichang Prefecture is located on a plateau, with extremely cold winters and springs. Plus, the new prefecture has just been established, and there are many things to do... I'm not deliberately doing anything, but the Duke of Wei's health can only last five years at most."

"So you never thought of transferring him back to Chang'an." Li Shimin now understood everything completely.

Li Jing became the Vice-Chancellor and the Prime Minister, but as long as he did not return to the court and stayed in Xichang Prefecture, he, as the Prime Minister, would have no influence on the political situation in Chang'an.

It turns out that Li Chengqian has been using Li Jing to scare Changsun Wuji.

"Checks and balances are the key to long-term stability." Li Chengqian sighed softly and said, "I simply hope that my uncle can remain in the court longer, rather than being instigated by certain individuals, intentionally or unintentionally, to drift step by step down the path of uncontrollable behavior."

In his previous life, Li Zhi took action against Zhangsun Wuji because he lacked political skills.

On the other hand, it was also because of Changsun Wuji's own death.

Even in the fourth year of Yonghui, Li Zhi was only 26 years old, in the prime of his life. Wang Youlan was even a few years younger than him. There was no need to rush to have a child at this time.

Prince, the crown prince of a country.

Li Chengqian put himself in the other person's shoes.

He could understand that Li Zhi must have had deep thoughts behind this.

But how could the queen adopt the son of another concubine as her heir and make him the crown prince?

Not to mention that Li Zhi already had several sons at that time.

Therefore, the queen’s inability to have children was not Li Zhi’s problem, but the queen’s problem.

……

Li Chengqian sighed lightly. If no one forced him, Li Zhi might have been able to wait for a few years with peace of mind. Perhaps they would have a child in a few years.

But Wang Youlan couldn't wait, Liu Shi couldn't wait, and the entire Taiyuan Wang family couldn't wait. Finally, under the pressure of Taiyuan Wang family, Liu Shi, Jingzhao Liu family, Zhangsun Wuji and other veteran factions in Guanzhong, Li Zhi made Li Zhong the crown prince.

Li Zhong's mother was just a palace maid named Liu. Although he was Li Zhi's eldest son, his mother's family background was too low.

He was not at all the perfect candidate for the crown prince in Li Zhi's eyes.

Think about it, whether it is Li Zhi himself or Li Shimin, they are both legitimate sons born to legitimate mothers.

Although they are not the eldest sons, they are all legitimate sons.

How could they tolerate that their crown prince was not born of the legitimate son?

Adoption sounds good, but the essence remains unchanged.

Although he was forced by Zhangsun Wuji and others to make Li Zhong the crown prince, a thorn had already been planted in Li Zhi's heart.

The future consequences are not difficult to predict.

Therefore, although Changsun Wuji's original fate was excessive, it is undeniable that he also made big mistakes.

However, while it was true that he himself had made mistakes, he was more likely to be dragged along step by step by the powerful Guanlong clans behind him, until the situation became unmanageable. Li Chengqian's eyes grew serious.

In fact, what really needs to be controlled is the Guanlong valve.

The Guanlong clan is the real beast.

It’s just that its leader before was Li Shimin, and Li Shimin fed them to be strong enough.

Li Zhi wasn't strong enough, so he needed Zhangsun Wuji to help him at first, but he was soon side-rammed by the uncontrollable beast.

In the end, he had to depose Changsun Wuji.

Li Chengqian has now inherited the throne. He doesn't need anyone else to control the beast for him, he can do it himself.

The strongest nose bridge of this beast belongs to Changsun Wuji.

By controlling and restraining Changsun Wuji, Li Chengqian controlled this beast.

If he killed Changsun Wuji, both sides would definitely suffer losses in the short term.

……

"You said Li Jing won't live for many years." Li Shimin looked down at the memorial between his legs, then looked at Li Chengqian and said, "If you don't transfer him back to Chang'an, it will take at most a year for your uncle to see through your plan. What will you do then?"

Li Chengqian smiled faintly and said, "Father, isn't there still the Duke of Ying?"

"So, you insisted on transferring Li Ji to the position of Shangshu You Pushe in order to check and balance your uncle." Li Shimin sighed lightly. His son's plan was so early that even he could not see it clearly at the beginning.

Li Chengqian nodded slightly. Li Ji was the Shangshu You Pushe, and the person who could best check and balance the Shangshu Zuo Pushe.

"But you should understand that Li Ji is a cunning man. You can use him, but if you really expect him to do anything at the critical moment, you will be disappointed." Li Shimin shook his head. He had a bad impression of Li Ji.

Li Chengqian nodded in agreement and said, "I understand. I don't need to wait too long. Duke Weiguo and Duke Yingguo can restrain my uncle one by one. After all, I don't really intend to do anything to my uncle."

Li Shimin raised his head slightly. What Li Chengqian said must be somewhat true, but he must have a backup plan to prevent Changsun Wuji from losing control.

Suddenly, Li Shimin said, "I heard that when we were in Luoyang, many people went to visit Su Tan?"

Li Chengqian shook his head: "My father-in-law is here to replace my uncle in the future. He is not a son who can check and balance my uncle.

In fact, if the situation really gets a little out of control, I only need to get closer to Ma Qing, Yu Xiang, Lai Xiang, and Yan Qing brothers. Not to mention, I will transfer Du Zhenglun back in the future, and that will solve the problem."

"These people are useless. They can't have much influence on your uncle."

"Father, I've already said this. I just want to restrain my uncle a little bit." Li Chengqian shook his head and said, "To govern the country, I really need your help."

What Li Chengqian needed was to put Changsun Wuji in the cage of power, not to kill him.

Li Shimin glanced at Li Chengqian and asked directly, "What will you do if the situation gets out of control before Su Tan returns?"

Li Chengqian tilted his head slightly, then said, "I will transfer Songzhou Governor Wang Renyou back to Chang'an."

"Wang Renyou, the father of Wang Zhaoyuan?" Li Shimin frowned and said, "Then isn't he Liu Shi's brother-in-law?"

"Yes!" Li Chengqian nodded and said, "By that time, Concubine Lan must have been pregnant. Liu Shi should be able to see it clearly, both inside and outside the family."

At that time, it would be Liu Shi who would help Wang Renyou to fight against Changsun Wuji.

Liu Shi, whom he personally sent to him, now serves as a check and balance for him.

Li Shimin could even imagine Changsun Wuji's astonishment at that time!

"This way they can buy you enough time." Li Shimin glanced at Li Chengqian. He understood that as long as this whole set of measures was carried out smoothly, Changsun Wuji would be completely under control.

Li Chengqian nodded and said, "By that time, people like Li Yifu, Liu Rengui, Li Yiyan, Su Liangsi, and Dai Zhide will have grown up."

Li Shimin finally understood that what Li Chengqian truly trusted were the talents he had personally trained.

As for Su Tan, he will play a role of connecting the past and the future.

But he will never grow to the level that Changsun Wuji is today.

During Li Chengqian's reign, the positions of the imperial relatives in the court would be greatly restricted.

Li Shimin nodded.

There is a precedent in the Western Han Dynasty that the monopoly of power by external relatives is the way to destroy a country.

When the Tang Dynasty was founded, in order to maintain stability in the country, it tried to win over various forces, marry princesses or take them as queens so that they could share the world together.

But this is enough. Any more and they will threaten the emperor's power.

It’s not that the power of the maternal relatives was so strong, but that in Li Shimin’s time, he was able to suppress the power and ambition of the maternal relatives. However, Li Chengqian was not Li Shimin after all.

He needed to control and suppress the power of his relatives by marriage.

This is the way to govern a country.

After thinking for a moment, Li Shimin said, "You are right, but be cautious. The world is so vast. Any mistake will result in the bloodshed and death of countless people."

Li Chengqian stood up and bowed solemnly to Li Shimin on the bed: "Your son understands. Be extremely cautious and tread carefully as if you were walking on thin ice."

Li Shimin waved his hand and said, "There is one thing you must remember: if there is anything that cannot be handled in the future, it is best to let your uncle handle it."

"I understand, son." Li Chengqian bowed very quickly. He had originally planned to do so.

(End of this chapter)