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

Chapter 462: Li Yifu, use some tricks to make me happy (First update)
In the Liangyi Hall, Li Chengqian put down the thin bamboo gold pen in his hand, looked up at Duan Baoxuan standing beside him, and said, "Everything has been arranged."

"Yes." Duan Baoxuan bowed and said, "In compliance with your majesty's order, the Tibetan envoy's visit to the capital is kept a secret and no one will know about it."

"Yes!" Li Chengqian nodded and said, "You will be responsible for what happens next. Keep an eye on that area and don't let anyone get close to it.

Also, if anyone tries to spy, find out who is behind them."

"Yes!" Duan Baoxuan bowed solemnly.

Li Chengqian's expression softened and he said, "Thank you for your hard work, Mr. Duan. Go home first.

In addition, please write down all your experiences in the northwest and submit it in a memorial.

Don’t worry, write in more detail.”

"I accept your order." Duan Baoxuan bowed, then said, "I will take my leave."

"Yeah!" Li Chengqian nodded, then watched Duan Baoxuan leave.

……

"Your Majesty!" Li Yifu walked out from the side, looked at Duan Baoxuan's departing figure, and said with a bow, "Since the Tubo envoy has come to seek peace, why don't you resolve this matter first?"

"Because I don't want to kill anyone right now." Li Chengqian turned sideways to look at Li Yifu and said calmly, "The most important thing right now is the release of the imperial examination results, and then the Duke of Wei will return to the capital to offer up the captives.

Enthroning a prince as a result of a great victory is the best way to awe people.

Only then did the three courts begin to try Lu Dongzan.

If the emperor does not issue an amnesty decree, I will kill Lu Dongzan.

Seeing blood then was better than now."

Li Yifu raised his head slightly and asked cautiously, "Will the Saint not issue an edict of amnesty?"

"Who knows?" Li Chengqian shook his head calmly and said, "Everything is done according to the imperial rules. Even if the emperor sent the imperial edict to the execution ground a little after three quarters past noon, the person would still be beheaded."

The corners of Li Yifu's mouth twitched slightly.

That actually means that the emperor has no intention of pardoning Lu Dongzan from the bottom of his heart, and everything else is just for show.

In that case, the reason for killing Lu Dongzan would fall on Li Chengqian, after all, it had been agreed in advance to pardon Lu Dongzan and his son.

Based on Li Yifu's understanding of Li Chengqian, the emperor would not care about these gossips. In comparison, he would rather kill Lu Dongzan and his son.

"After the issue of Lu Dongzan and his son is resolved, we can start negotiations with the Tibetans." Li Chengqian shook his head slightly and said, "I don't want to see these things mixed up. Only by tackling them one by one can we achieve the greatest effect."

"I appreciate your advice." Li Yifu bowed sincerely.

"When we negotiate with the Tibetans, you can go and watch." Li Chengqian raised his head slightly, looked at Li Yifu and said, "Use some tricks to make me happy."

"Don't worry, Your Majesty. I know what to do." Li Yifu bowed with a serious expression.

"Very good." Li Chengqian handed the note in his hand to Dou Zhijie.

Dou Zhijie walked down the steps and handed the short note to Li Yifu.

Seeing Li Yifu reading the short note, Li Chengqian finally spoke: "On the first day of March, the Crown Prince will be enthroned in Taiji Hall, and the Princes of Yong, Dai, Yan, Xiang, and Shou will be enthroned in Lizheng Hall."

Li Xiang was the crown prince, Li Jue was the King of Yong, and Li Yu was the King of Dai.

Li Jiu was the Prince of Yan, Li Shan was the Prince of Xiang, and Li Yu was the Prince of Shou.

Li Yifu looked at the note in his hand. He raised his head to look at Li Chengqian and asked, "Your Majesty, are you worried about Qilu and Huainan?"

Li Chengqian nodded and said, "Jiu'er, I originally wanted to make you the Prince of Ji, but Concubine Zheng didn't want to, so I changed it to the Prince of Yan.

Wulang is the grandson of Duke Zheng, so it is just right for him to be named Prince Xiang.

As for Liu Lang, his mother is from Jiangnan, so she can just extend her tentacles into Huainan. Then we can send two officials from the imperial court over there and use them to infiltrate the area."

Concubine Wei was the daughter of Wei Zheng, Duke of Zheng. Wei Zheng was from the Wei family of Hebei and had frequent contacts with Qi and Lu. Wei Zheng's grandson was named Prince of Xiang, who was close to Qi and Lu.

The people of Qi and Lu are somewhat afraid.

Why weren’t the others directly made King of Qi?
Look at the two kings of Qi, one was killed and the other was deposed.

This king title is somewhat unlucky.

The King of Lu wasn't necessarily that good either.

Li Yifu paused for a moment, then bowed and said, "Your Majesty, aren't you worried about the Jiangnan Zhang family's connection with the Huainan family?"

"Don't worry." Li Chengqian raised his head calmly and said, "To connect, at least the Zhang family and the Huainan family must have in-depth contact, and their interests must be deeply bound to each other before they would think of disobeying me.

At that time, I only need to take action against the Zhang family, and then everything about the Huainan family will be clearly revealed."

Li Yifu suddenly felt a slight chill in his body.

The Zhang family of Jiangnan, the maternal family of Prince Shou, would be completely deposed by the emperor in a moment, and at the same time, the Huainan family would be completely destroyed.

Therefore, for the Zhang family of Jiangnan, they either had to honestly fight against the Huainan family according to the emperor's ideas, or they would perish together with the Huainan family.

They had no other choice.

Many thoughts surged in Li Yifu's mind at once, but he eventually suppressed them all.

Li Chengqian didn't care what Li Yifu was thinking. He continued, "The princes have not yet been granted titles, and there are many vacancies in the palaces. I have recommended a few people.

I cannot offer you a high position, but the eighth-rank officials in the various royal palaces can be appointed as they wish. My dear minister, please select some talented people to come up."

"I obey your order." Li Yifu bowed his head.

The Palace Secretary was an eighth-rank official, which was very inconspicuous in the entire court. However, even less conspicuous than the eighth-rank officials were the numerous ninth-rank and ninth-rank officials.

It is not difficult for young officials of the ninth rank. As long as they have the ability, they can be promoted to the eighth rank without doing much.

This eighth-rank official position has no appeal to them at all.

Instead, there were many ninth-rank county magistrates, county lieutenants, and chief clerks, especially those from humble backgrounds and with average abilities.

Apart from their infinite loyalty to the emperor, these officials had little else to offer.

What remains is to monitor the local areas based on one's own experience in local affairs.

Li Yifu is very understanding of people's hearts, and Li Chengqian speaks very directly, but getting things done is not an easy task.

The emperor's instructions were never easy. The emperor gave him an opportunity, and Li Yifu turned around and went down to select someone.

When an opportunity arises, whether you are willing to seize it or not, and whether you can seize it, is a personal matter.

Once it is done, the road ahead will naturally be smooth.

No, he would either die at the hands of the aristocratic family or at the hands of the emperor.

Opportunities may not necessarily be transformed into tangible benefits.

However, if you don't seize this opportunity, there will be no benefit at all.

Li Yifu knew very well that among the lower-level officials of the eighth and ninth ranks in this world, there were too many ambitious people who were unwilling to move up.

He has no shortage of people.

The emperor has no shortage of people at his disposal, but he lacks people who can get things done.

……

"Your Majesty!" Zhang Da'an, the attendant, stood outside the palace and bowed solemnly to Li Chengqian, saying, "Your Majesty, the Minister of the Left, the Minister of Personnel, the Vice Minister of Personnel, and the Director of the Ministry of Personnel's Examination and Reward Department request an audience."

Li Chengqian turned sideways to look at Li Yifu and said with a smile, "The list of imperial examination candidates is out. My dear, who do you think is likely to take first place in this examination?"

Li Yifu's expression subsided, but he smiled and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, there are gambling houses in the streets during the imperial examinations. The person with the lowest odds of winning the top prize is Wang Gongjin of Taiyuan. Wang Gongjin and Zhang Changling are equally famous. In their early years, they both took the imperial examinations together, and their reputations were even known to the retired emperor. However, neither of their names was on the examination that year."

"Why?"

"The then-Minister of Examination, Wang Shidan, said: 'These people do have elegant words, but their style is frivolous and their writing is gaudy. They will never become great talents. I fear that future generations will imitate them and alter the elegance of Your Majesty.'" Li Yifu bowed solemnly and said: "During the Wei, Jin, and Southern and Northern Dynasties, literature was ornate and monotonous, with superficial content and difficult to understand."

Li Chengqian nodded. During the chaotic times of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, scholars could only pursue beauty through writing, so the words were gorgeous.

"Since entering this dynasty, Prime Minister Fang and Prime Minister Wei have both been known for their simple, direct, and bold writing styles, and officials throughout the country often use this as a standard when recruiting officials." Li Yifu bowed slightly.

Wei Zheng was not only an advisor and prime minister, but also a writer and poet.

In the early days of the Central Plains, I was competing for the throne, and I was writing for Rongxuan.

If the plan is not enough, the generosity still exists.

Cold birds sing in the ancient trees, and night apes sing in the empty mountains.

Life is about feelings and emotions, who cares about fame and fortune?

"Zhang Changling was young, so his writing style changed quickly, while Wang Gongjin took two more years." Li Yifu smiled and said, "The one who suffered the most was Zhang Changling's elder brother, Zhang Changzong. He was older, and although his reputation was even worse than his brother's, he was the least able to change."

Li Chengqian smiled and said nothing.

Although Li Yifu is very insightful about people's hearts, there are many things that he cannot see clearly.

Whether the writing style is gorgeous or simple, these have never been the fundamental reasons why the emperor chooses the articles of the Jinshi.

In the eyes of the emperor, what really matters is the right to speak.

Since the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the world's literature and art have been controlled by aristocratic families. Aristocratic families have made in-depth studies on literature, and it is easy for them to write gorgeous words.

For children from poor families, their writing is relatively simple.

If the writing style in the imperial examinations was not inclined towards simplicity and simplicity, then the candidates for the imperial examinations would probably still be mostly children of aristocratic families, and children from poor families would have no chance at all.

It is the emperor's instinct to weaken the power of the aristocratic families.

The imperial examination was the most important means for the emperor to break the monopoly of the aristocratic families.

How could it be controlled by the aristocratic families?

……

Li Chengqian looked up and said, "Announce!"

Zhang Da'an immediately turned around, looked outside the hall, and said loudly: "Announce the Minister of the Left, the Minister of Personnel, the Vice Minister of Personnel, and the Director of the Personnel Examination Department to see you."

A moment later, Changsun Wuji, Tang Jian, Liu Shi and Wang Shidan walked into the hall.

The four of them simultaneously bowed to Li Chengqian and said, "Your Majesty, we pay our respects to you. May your Majesty live a long and healthy life."

"Stand up." Li Chengqian looked up, smiled at Changsun Wuji, and said, "I just heard from Li Yifu that Wang Gongjin, who is as famous as Zhang Changling, is taking the imperial examination this year. How did he perform?"

Zhang Changling ranked first in the imperial examination in the 21st year of Zhenguan, also known as the top scholar.

Wang Gongjin was as famous as him, and the people regarded him as the best in the imperial examinations.

"Your Majesty!" Zhangsun Wuji bowed and said, "Wang Gongjin has passed the imperial examination. He truly lives up to his reputation. Unfortunately, there are others who are more talented than him, so he was ranked second."

Li Chengqian looked surprised and asked, "Who is on top?"

"Guo Zhengyi from Taiyuan." Changsun Wuji handed over the list of imperial examination candidates and the top ten essays.

Li Chengqian's expression became serious. Compared to Wang Gongjin, Guo Zhengyi sounded somewhat familiar to him.

This is indeed the case with Guo Zhengyi's comparison with Wang Gongjin as far as writing is concerned.

After reading the articles by Guo Zhengyi and Wang Gongjin, Li Chengqian smiled and nodded at Changsun Wuji.

Changsun Wuji couldn't help but feel relieved.

Li Chengqian glanced at the article below, but after just one glance, he was stunned.

In the first year of Yongwei, Lou Shide ranked third in the imperial examination.

Lou Shide, how could there be Lou Shide?
He actually took part in the scientific examination that year and ranked third.

Li Chengqian lowered his head and began to read Lou Shide's article in detail.

Changsun Wuji and others looked at the emperor in surprise.

With a "zi" sound, Li Chengqian suddenly took out Lou Shide's article and handed it to Dou Zhijie.

Dou Zhijie immediately walked down and immediately called Zhangsun Wuji.

Changsun Wuji looked at Li Chengqian in some surprise.

Li Chengqian suddenly smiled and said, "Uncle, I think this article is better. What do you think?"

(End of this chapter)