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

Chapter 477: Lu Zhaolin, the Imperial Consort, will you do it? (First update)
Under the Wangyun Pavilion, there is a gentle warm breeze.

Li Chengqian looked up at the Nanhai Lake across from him and said softly, "Father, I have no choice but to use drastic measures this time."

"Oh!" Li Shimin replied nonchalantly, leaning back and asking, "You say."

Li Chengqian nodded slightly and said, "The official report of the Imperial Censor has not yet been submitted, but the Qianniu Guards have already thoroughly investigated all the details. This time, Prime Minister Chu's incident will probably implicate many people."

"You go on."

"Prime Minister Chu has two sons. The eldest, Chu Yanfu, has been married for many years, and his son, Chu Fu, is already twelve years old." Li Chengqian sighed softly and said, "They're getting engaged."

"So, this incident is because Chu Qing's grandson wanted to get engaged, but he didn't have a house, which led to a series of ridiculous things?" Li Shimin raised his head slightly.

"Yes!" Li Chengqian lowered his head and said, "This matter was not originally a case of buying real estate, but a power-for-money transaction."

Li Chengqian originally thought that there was power and money involved, but that was actually what he found out.

"Shi Hedan is a sixth-rank official in the Secretariat. He only needs to take one more step, which is a fifth-rank official." Li Chengqian turned to look at Li Shimin and said, "According to Tang law, officials of the fifth rank and above can inherit one of their sons."

Entering the officialdom through imperial examinations is also a legitimate path to officialdom, but compared to passing the imperial examinations, the lowest official position one can hold is below the ninth rank.

Shi Hedan only needs to take a small step forward to become a fifth-rank official.

His son could be appointed as the head of the Menxia Province, a position below the ninth rank.

Thus he successfully entered the official career.

"Fifth-rank official, which fifth-rank official is he targeting?" Li Shimin asked calmly.

"Grand Master of the Imperial Household." Li Chengqian said with amusement, "They really aren't afraid that their son will find out and end up killing people and shedding blood."

"The Ministry of Personnel approved it?" Li Shimin looked up in surprise.

"Zhang Rui, a doctor in the Ministry of Personnel, approved the case and handed it directly to Tang Qing." Li Chengqian shook his head slightly and said, "Tang Qing knew the severity of the case and blocked it, leaving it aside. I don't know when Chu Qing learned about it, but before he could say hello to Tang Qing, Wei Renyue filed an impeachment."

"Wei Renyue." Li Shimin lowered his head slightly and read the name.

"Wei Qing is quite upright, but the truth is that he knew about this because there are members of the Wei family who are keeping an eye on the fifth-rank official, the Minister of the Imperial Household." Li Chengqian shook his head in amusement and said, "How could they let a 67-year-old Turkic man take over the position and directly impeach the Minister of the Secretariat?"

The Wei family is a prominent family in Chang'an.

Although there have been no members of the Wei family in the core government in recent years, there are more than a dozen provincial governors from the Wei family at the local level.

Who knows when someone will be transferred back.

After impeaching the Minister of the Secretariat, at least a lot of positions will be vacated in the court.

"The Wei family really doesn't submit to your uncle!" Li Shimin looked up at Li Chengqian.

Li Chengqian nodded slightly, his expression solemn.

Wei, Pei, Xue, Liu, Yang and Du were the aristocratic families in Guanzhong.

They may not have enough people at the top level of the central government who can compete with Changsun Wuji, but they still have a lot of manpower at the local level.

Moreover, there were many concubines from these aristocratic families in Li Shimin's harem.

Concubine Wei was even Li Shimin's imperial concubine, and now the imperial concubine.

Even Su Shu saw their role and planned to select women from these six families to enter the harem so that they could stabilize the world for Li Chengqian.

"So, what do you plan to do about this matter?" Li Shimin asked directly.

"Son, I'm going to take drastic measures." Li Chengqian lowered his head slightly, looking at the stone table in front of him, and whispered, "If Prime Minister Chu's son comes forward and confesses the truth about this matter, then this seventh-rank Four-Ministry Doctor will be dismissed, and Zhang Ruice, the Ministry of Personnel doctor who helped him pass this matter, will be dismissed from office and exiled three thousand miles for abusing his power for personal gain."

"What about Chu Suiliang?"

"Investigate first!" Li Chengqian sighed softly and said, "If this is the only incident, and Prime Minister Chu was completely unaware of it, then I will dismiss him from his position as a Jin Zi Guang Lu Da Fu (Golden Purple Light Green) official, strip him of his title of Duke of Henan, and exempt him from his salary for six months for failing to raise his son properly. But if this is more than one incident, and he was aware of it from beginning to end, then I can only dismiss him from his position as Minister of the Central Secretariat."

Stop looking.

Everything has to come to this point in the end.

Li Shimin asked softly, "What are you going to do about your uncle?"

Chu Suiliang was Zhangsun Wuji's man.

Zhangsun Wuji is now the Minister of the Left, and Chu Suiliang is the Minister of the Central Secretariat.

If the two people join forces, their power in the Council of State may not be so absolute, but if they join forces and control the Secretariat and the Chancellery among the three provinces and six ministries, there is even the possibility that Emperor Li Chengqian will be sidelined.

Now that Li Chengqian is about to resign as prime minister, Changsun Wuji's nerves will immediately become sensitive.

"If Chu Suiliang is really dismissed from his position as prime minister, then next, I will appoint Tang Qing as the Minister of the Central Secretariat, the Duke of Ande as the Minister of Personnel, and then appoint Zhangsun Xiang as the Minister of Works." Li Chengqian gave the solution calmly.

Although Chu Suiliang was dismissed from his position as prime minister, his successor Tang Jian was also a member of the Guanlong clan, and he also appointed Zhangsun Xiang as the Minister of Works.

The Changsun family was given the position of Minister of Works.

However, the Minister of Personnel, Li Chengqian took it back.

Yang Shidao has been very low-key in recent years, and since the Minister of Works has never been prominent among the six ministries, almost everyone has forgotten him.

But he was the Minister of the Central Secretariat and the Inspecting Minister of Personnel a few years earlier, and his control over the Ministry of Personnel was even stronger than Tang Jian's.

If you calculate it carefully, the Guanlong clan did not suffer any loss, but Changsun Wuji did suffer some loss.

After all, Tang Jian was not as obedient to him as Chu Suiliang was.

"It's up to you." Li Shimin raised his hand, and Zhang Ananda immediately had tea and cakes brought in.

……

Green willows are swaying and the lake is clear.

"Oh, right." Li Shimin put down the teacup in his hand, looked at Li Chengqian and said, "The matter of Xincheng has been delayed for a long time. It's time to make a decision."

"Hmm!" Li Chengqian nodded and said, "Lu Zhaolin should have recovered from his failure in the imperial examination. I will go meet him and hear what he has to say. If he is successful, then we can arrange their marriage as soon as possible."

"Yes!" Li Shimin nodded with satisfaction. Princess Xincheng was not only his youngest daughter, but also the only unmarried one among all his children.

If he could resolve this matter now, the regret in his heart would be reduced a lot. "Lu Zhaolin!" Li Chengqian raised his head slightly.

The white clouds are floating and the sky is vast.

Li Shimin sat alone in the stone pavilion, watching Li Chengqian's receding figure. He turned sideways and said, "Tell Duke Zhao what the Emperor and I just said."

"Yes!" Zhang Ananda bowed slightly.

……

To the east of Liangyi Hall is Yi Qiu Gate.

Behind Yi Qiu Gate are Qian Qiu Palace and Princess Courtyard.

Now, only Princess Xincheng lives in the princess's courtyard.

Of course, Xincheng has her own princess mansion, and she would go out occasionally, but she would not live there permanently before getting married.

The name Qianqiu Palace means long life.

Across from the Liangyi Hall, it forms a contrast with the Wanchun Hall to the east.

In the early years, Wanchun Hall was where Empress Changsun met foreign guests, while Qianqiu Hall was where the concubines and princesses in the harem met foreign guests.

The concubines in the harem here refer to the four concubines and nine imperial concubines, and the concubines with sufficient status.

Talented and beautiful women are not included.

Lu Zhaolin was tall and had a handsome face. He wore a green robe with cloud patterns, a jade pendant hanging around his waist, and a long hairpin to tie his hair.

Entering the hall, Lu Zhaolin bowed earnestly to Li Chengqian and said, "Student Lu Zhaolin pays respects to Your Majesty."

Li Chengqian, sitting on the imperial couch, put down the memorial in his hand, looked at the heroic Lu Zhaolin, nodded gently and said, "Stand up."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Lu Zhaolin breathed a sigh of relief.

"It seems that you have come over the failure in the imperial examination this time." Li Chengqian raised his head slightly.

"Yes." Lu Zhaolin bowed slightly and said, "This is my first time taking the imperial examination, and I made many mistakes. I will definitely pass next year."

"Come back next year. What if I still don't pass?" Li Chengqian looked down at Lu Zhaolin and frowned. "What if I pass next year but the results are not satisfactory?"

Before the New Year, Li Chengqian had asked Fang Xuanling to ask the Lu family.

The Lu family meant that Lu Zhaolin should pass the imperial examination first, after all, it was only two or three months away.

Who would have thought that Lu Zhaolin failed the imperial examination and it took half a year to pass.

Lu Zhaolin also knew in his heart that the emperor was asking about the princess's marriage.

Especially in the past few years, the emperor intended to make him the consort of Princess Xincheng, but at that time he was in Jiangnan and he didn't have much thought about it, and in the end he didn't choose him.

Now it is Princess Xincheng’s turn to get married, the emperor’s last biological sister.

Lu Zhaolin bowed and asked seriously, "Your Majesty, may I ask if the prince consort can still be the prime minister in the future?"

"It's human nature to be granted a title of nobility and appointed as a prime minister." Li Chengqian smiled and nodded, saying, "I don't know what future generations will do, but it's acceptable here. Don't forget that the Duke of Ande is also a son-in-law."

Lu Zhaolin lowered his head slightly and said nothing. Although Yang Shidao was the son-in-law of the emperor, he was also a founding minister, and his family was from the Hongnong Yang family, so his status was noble. But Lu Zhaolin was much worse.

Moreover, Yang Shidao had been demoted from the Minister of the Central Secretariat to the Minister of Works a long time ago.

This trend has been discussed countless times between the government and the opposition.

Any smart person can see that in the future of the Tang Dynasty, it would be extremely rare for a son-in-law to serve as prime minister, no, even for a son-in-law to serve as the minister of one of the six ministries.

"I won't hide it from you. A son-in-law can become prime minister, but it's extremely difficult." Li Chengqian sat on the imperial couch, tapping the table gently. Then he said, "Take you for example. You don't hold an official position now, but once you get married, you'll be a son-in-law captain, and you might even be promoted to the fourth rank soon. I don't know how many officials in the world will be jealous and stare at you with envy."

Lu Zhaolin fell silent.

Li Chengqian continued, "Therefore, it is very likely that you will waste many years in a fourth-rank official position until you have accumulated sufficient merit, experience, and qualifications, and then be promoted to the third rank. If you want to become a prime minister, you can only move up from the six ministers to the three provincial ministers, and this path is very difficult."

If you want to be promoted to the prime minister of the three ministries, there are only two ways: to become the deputy prime minister of the three ministries or the minister of the six ministries.

The deputy prime ministers of the three ministries can be promoted from the vice ministers of the three ministries and the vice ministers of the six ministries, and even earlier they can be the sheriffs of the three ministries and the doctors of the six ministries.

This is a shortcut to becoming a prime minister.

Of course, it’s not that easy. There are a lot of intrigues and life and death calculations involved.

But it is much easier than being promoted directly from the Minister of Six Ministries to the Prime Minister of Three Provinces.

However, once Lu Zhaolin became the son-in-law of the emperor, he would have only one choice.

This road is extremely difficult.

The hall fell silent for a moment.

Lu Zhaolin stood there with a complicated expression, not knowing what to say for a moment.

Li Chengqian suddenly smiled, looked at Lu Zhaolin and said, "Okay, go back and think about it carefully, there's no need to rush."

Hearing Li Chengqian's words, Lu Zhaolin relaxed and bowed to Li Chengqian, saying, "Thank you, Your Majesty."

Li Chengqian nodded and said, "Go ahead."

"Student, take your leave!" Lu Zhaolin bowed deeply and then turned to leave.

After walking out of Qianqiu Palace, Lu Zhaolin couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

The afternoon sun shone on his face, and for a moment, the left side was clear and the right side was dark.

Lu Zhaolin was completely unaware and strode towards Yi Qiu Gate.

……

In the hall, Li Chengqian's eyes were cold.

(End of this chapter)