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

Chapter 493: The Last Meeting between Li Shimin and Wei Zheng (Part )
In the backyard, Li Shimin looked back and saw that Li Chengqian had stopped.

Li Shimin reminisced about the past with Wei Zheng, Gao Shilian, Xiao Yu and others, and it was enough to have Zhangsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling, Cheng Zhijie and others accompany him.

Emperor Li Chengqian tactfully chose to stop in the main hall.

Li Shimin turned his head and looked at the back hall in front, and then looked at the courtyards on both sides.

New beams painted red, green tiles and light mud.

Li Shimin turned to look at Wei Zheng and asked in surprise, "Have you renovated this place?"

"Yes, the sage has seen it!" Wei Zheng smiled with some pride and said, "This old minister used the rewards Your Majesty has given me over the years, the tribute sent back by Consort Shu, and some money taken from the Prince of Xiang's regular silver to renovate the entire house."

Li Chengqian treated Wei Zheng very well, and he would always be given a share of any rewards from the palace.

Wei Wei is also very filial.

Even part of Li Shan's salary was sent over by Wei Wei.

Li Shimin glanced at Wei Zheng and felt a little amused for a moment.

How could he not understand the meaning of Wei Zheng's words? He was simply saying that he was now Shufei's father.

His grandson even became the Prince of Xiang.

After all, aren't they still his son's concubines and son?
What's there to be proud of!
Thinking of this, Li Shimin's expression calmed down, and then he strode towards the back hall.

……

In the back hall, Li Shimin sat in the main seat and looked at Wei Zheng.

Although Wei Zheng also had white hair and beard, he looked much more energetic.

Li Shimin couldn't help but sigh and said, "Looking at Wei Qing's health, I'm afraid it's better than mine. Maybe you can live longer than me."

Although the emperor was said to have a long life, it was rare for him to live beyond fifty years old, and there was no emperor who lived to be a hundred years old.

After Wei Zheng had tea served, he looked at Li Shimin and said, "I've been recuperating for the past few years, and have basically ignored external affairs. I only talk about court affairs when the emperor occasionally comes. Most of the time, I read books and relax. Speaking of which, these years have passed by so quickly!"

Li Shimin nodded slightly.

Isn't that what it's like to be alone in your own little courtyard?

"For me, this is already very good." Wei Zheng smiled and said, "My eldest daughter married Prince Huo, my second daughter married into the palace as a concubine, and my eldest son married the daughter of the Xue family in Hedong. I have many children and grandchildren, and my family is harmonious. What else can I be dissatisfied with?"

"You, a minister of remonstration, how come you are so old that you only care about your own family?" Li Shimin glanced at Wei Zheng unhappily, then said, "You should also pay more attention to what is happening outside."

"There's nothing to worry about." Wei Zheng shook his head and said, "Your Majesty has been paying more attention to farming since the early years. The people have had good harvests in recent years, and their grain reserves have increased a lot.

Furthermore, Your Majesty has improved papermaking, diligently repaired canals, opened post stations, and managed both internal and external affairs. This shows that you are a ruler with a broad mind. Furthermore, you act with caution and are always well prepared. With such wisdom, what else can I say?

Many people have actually seen what Li Chengqian has done over the years.

He did a lot, but also did it with restraint.

For example, regarding the imperial examination, although he once said that he would hold a palace examination, it has not actually been held yet.

We just need to find a suitable time to start when there is the least opposition from the aristocratic families in the world.

There are also land surveys, official rectifications, and the suppression of extravagant people...

The common people all know this.

But the movements were not big.

They are all biding their time.

"What about the outside world?" Li Shimin asked.

"Needless to say, he even sent Li Jing to Tuyuhun." Wei Zheng looked up at Li Shimin and said, "In the Tang Dynasty today, Li Jing's military prowess is probably second only to that of a saint. Your Majesty still knows how to employ people."

All the ministers present nodded in agreement.

Li Jing returned with a great victory. A military officer impeached Li Jing for treason and was immediately exiled by Li Chengqian.

Li Chengqian was not burdened with too many favors in the Prince of Qin's Mansion, so he could act more fairly.

"And, most importantly," Wei Zheng shook his head and said, "I can see that Your Majesty, although he knows how to employ people, rarely leads the army in person. This can avoid many problems."

Li Shimin rolled his eyes at Wei Zheng, then shook his head and said, "We can't always rely on others for military matters. If something goes wrong, the cost will be more than just the food and military expenses we save. If we're not careful, it will become a bottomless pit."

"Your Majesty has always been sensitive about money and grain. Don't worry, few people can deceive Your Majesty in this regard." Wei Zheng smiled lightly, looking relaxed.

"But there will always be people who want to die." Li Shimin shook his head calmly.

Wei Zheng turned his head away, not wanting to speak again, but finally said, "Your Majesty is wise. As long as someone points this out, Your Majesty will be able to see it clearly. As for what happens next..."

It's nothing more than killing people.

Li Shimin smiled lightly and brought the conversation back to the point.

Wei Zheng bowed his head slightly, then said, "Overall, Your Majesty is rigorous and enterprising. Under Your Majesty's rule, the world will surely prosper, and Your Majesty will undoubtedly become a great ruler."

Li Shimin fell silent. He now understood everything.

He had previously mentioned that he wanted to summon Li Zhi and Li Tai, and I'm afraid Wei Zheng and everyone else here knew about it.

That's why Wei Zheng advised him openly and secretly.

Li Shimin turned sideways, looked at Gao Shilian, and asked, "Uncle, how have you been in the past two years?"

"I'm fine, old minister." Gao Shilian bowed slightly and said with a smile, "The imperial physician from the Imperial Hospital comes to take my pulse every day, and the medicine given by the palace has never stopped. I also have a good doctor at home at all times. I can rest assured and spend my old age in peace."

Li Shimin nodded, saying that Li Chengqian had made a very appropriate arrangement.

Li Shimin turned to look at Xiao Yu and said, "Duke Song, come to think of it, I haven't seen you for a long time."

"I'm fine." Xiao Yu glanced at Wei Zheng and Gao Shilian, then said gently, "I'm not ill that often. I spend most of my time with my sister, relaxing. I can be considered living out my old age."

Empress Xiao is still alive.

Empress Xiao was Xiao Yu's biggest worry, and Xiao Yu was also Empress Xiao's biggest worry.

If one of them doesn't live well, something might happen to the other one.

Fortunately, Li Chengqian allowed Xiao Yu to retire early, so he didn't have to be demoted to a local position and no longer have to worry about state affairs. So even though he was already old, Xiao Yu was still the healthiest among the three.

Li Shimin nodded, then glanced at the three of them lightly.

Xiao Yu was the largest base of the Jiangnan faction in the court. Not only was he the prime minister, his son also married a princess, and officials from Jiangnan all followed him in the court. Especially after Chu Suiliang was demoted, more officials from Jiangnan began to move closer to him.

Even though he has retired, his prestige in the court has increased instead of decreased.

There is also Wei Zheng. Wei Zheng was from Hebei, but he was not the leader of all Hebei officials in the world. He was the leader of all the ministers of remonstration in the world.

Yu Zhining, Zhang Xuansu, Ma Zhou and others all followed him as their leader.

Finally, there is Gao Shilian.

Gao Shilian, who came from the Gao family of Bohai, shared the popularity of Hebei with Fang Xuanling, as well as the Cui, Lu, Zhao, and Li families in recent years.

Also, because Gao Shilian was Empress Changsun's uncle, he was the main person to be taken charge of when something really happened.

Even though Gao Shilian has retired now, Li Chengqian, Li Shimin, and Zhangsun Wuji all take good care of him because of their relationship with him.

If something really happened to him, the court would take it very seriously.

Therefore, he also has a great influence among Hebei officials.

Li Shimin looked to a place a little further back, where Zhangsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling, Tang Jian, Yang Shidao, Yan Lide and others were all there.

If you count them, from Guanzhong, to Henan, Hebei, Jiangnan, and Bingzhou, the heads of various factions in the court are actually here.

Although many people did not speak, their idea of ​​supporting Li Chengqian to become emperor was not shaken at all.

If you think about it carefully, although Li Chengqian has taken many actions since he ascended the throne, he has not actually caused much damage to their interests.

To be more precise, among the bigwigs in the court in recent years, the only one who was demoted was Chu Suiliang.

Although Chu Suiliang was the Minister of the Central Secretariat, he was not popular among the officials from Jiangnan. Although he was a close confidant of Zhangsun Wuji, Zhangsun Wuji was both cautious and cautious about him.

Therefore, when Chu Suiliang was demoted, there was actually not much disturbance in the city of Chang'an.

The emperor has gained the support of almost all factions in the court.

Especially with the remonstration ministers like Wei Zheng around, even if he really forced himself to do something, the final result would definitely be unsatisfactory.

Forget it.

Li Shimin smiled, then looked at his ministers and said, "Tell me about what's happening in Chang'an..."

……

By the lotus pond in the east courtyard of Duke Zheng's mansion, Li Chengqian sat under a stone pavilion, holding a fishing rod and looking calmly at the water.

Wei Wei leaned against his side, feeding lotus seeds into his mouth one by one.

Wei Wei's slender white fingers were occasionally accidentally bitten by Li Chengqian, and her cheeks immediately turned red.

Li Shan was taken out to play by his cousins ​​from the Wei family.

There are only two of them here.

Li Chengqian turned sideways slightly to look at Wei Wei and smiled gently.

At this moment, a slight sound of footsteps was heard behind him.

"Your Majesty, General Qiu requests to see you." Xu An bowed slightly.

"Announce!" Li Chengqian's expression calmed down. He handed the fishing rod to Wei Wei, then stood up and walked down the stone pavilion.

Qiu Shenji led a middle-aged man with a scar on his face into a remote area. The two men bowed to Li Chengqian and said, "Your Majesty!"

Li Chengqian raised his hand gently, and the two of them stood up.

"Is there any unusual movement in Chang'an City now?" Li Chengqian's expression became cold.

"Your Majesty, not yet." Qiu Shenji bowed.

"Keep watching. Someone will definitely make a move." Li Chengqian sneered softly and said, "If the news of my father's unwell health gets out, someone will come to test my strength."

"Yes!" Qiu Shenji bowed solemnly.

Li Chengqian's eyes fell on Zhang Yujing standing behind him and he nodded, "You are Zhang Yujing, the bad commander of Chang'an."

"Your Majesty, I, Zhang Yujing, pay my respects to you!" Zhang Yujing bowed earnestly to Li Chengqian, lowering his head cautiously.

"I have heard about your story from Qiu Qing. You are kind-hearted but ruthless. That's right. The prosperous Tang Dynasty needs people like you." Li Chengqian nodded slightly.

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Zhang Yujing's nose felt sore and his eyes were filled with tears of emotion.

Li Chengqian raised his head and said, "Qiu Qing said you were willing to go to Chang'an to be a county lieutenant, but I actually hope you will join the Qianniu Guard.

But since you want to go to Chang'an to be a county lieutenant, I will give you this opportunity to be the judicial county lieutenant of Chang'an."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Zhang Yujing immediately bowed in gratitude.

Li Chengqian waved his hand and said, "Chang'an is too big, and people's hearts are like ghosts. Even I can hardly see every corner. You are the Bad Commander, and you are most able to touch the people at the bottom. You have seen more dark sides than I have. So, it is better for the people, for me, and for the Tang Dynasty if you are a little more ruthless."

"Yes, I will do my best to clear away all the darkness for Your Majesty and the Tang Dynasty." Zhang Yujing bowed as if swearing an oath.

"Your intentions are good, but there's one thing you must remember." Li Chengqian's expression grew serious, and he said, "If you're in sight, you must act in accordance with Tang law."

"Yes!" Zhang Yujing didn't quite understand.

"If everyone were to resort to unscrupulous means, how many lives do you think you would have left to withstand the reckless assassination attempts of others?" Li Chengqian shook his head and said, "So, superficially acting in accordance with Tang law is a rule that everyone tacitly abides by."

"What if someone still doesn't follow the rules?" Zhang Yujing asked subconsciously.

"Survive, and then lead the Qianniu Guard to kill people." Li Chengqian looked at Zhang Yujing and said, "When the time comes, just kill them at will."

"I obey your order." Zhang Yujing understood.

He is just a chess piece, a chess piece that forces others to break the rules, a chess piece that can be killed at any time.

"You're kind-hearted but ruthless. How did you survive? You're not lacking in tricks." Li Chengqian looked at Qiu Shenji and said, "Have him register with the Hundred Cavalry Division and put him under the Secret Guard. When needed, the Secret Guard can act."

"I obey your order." Qiu Shenji bowed seriously.

"Send a few people to protect him. If a Chang'an County Lieutenant does a good job, half of Chang'an will be able to maintain order." Li Chengqian looked at Zhang Yujing and said with a slightly cruel look in his eyes: "The longer you live, the better off the people of Chang'an will be. The more you hate those people, the faster they will die, and the more they will die."

"I understand." Zhang Yujing looked up, glanced at Li Chengqian, then bowed deeply.

Li Chengqian smiled softly.

(End of this chapter)