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

Chapter 658: Imperial College Scholar, Di Renjie of Taiyuan, Bingzhou (Part )
To the west of Chang'an City, outside the Golden Gate.

Changsun Wuji, dressed in a purple official robe and a black cymbal hat, raised his wine glass and looked at Lai Ji, who was about to go to Tingzhou, and said, "You shouldn't do this."

Lai Ji smiled bitterly, bowed to Changsun Wuji, and said, "Duke, I understand. If it were me, I would not do this, but this matter was arranged by my wife and her family, so even I can do nothing about it."

Lai Ji's family's financial matters are managed by his wife.

There is no doubt that his wife was also responsible for purchasing the land in Luoning County and concealing the taxes.

Otherwise, with Lai Ji's keen understanding of the court affairs, it would be impossible for him to fail to see what the emperor was doing, and he would not have rushed into it like this.

"It seems that His Majesty has also seen through it, so he only demoted you to Tingzhou and ended the matter." Zhang Sun Wuji sighed softly and said, "Your Majesty is so merciful!"

"Yes!" Lai Ji nodded with emotion.

The emperor's benevolence was known to all officials in the court. Liu Dewei was already at the end of his official career, but he was promoted to the position of Zhongshu Ling by the emperor. Who among the officials in the court would not envy such a thing?

Even Lai Ji is full of desire for his future.

He was already the Yellow Gate Minister. One step further would mean the Palace Attendant and the Prime Minister of the Three Ministries, which was much stronger than a Yellow Gate Minister.

But alas, everything was ruined.

"Alright, let's not talk about this anymore." Changsun Wuji's expression grew solemn as he looked at Lai Ji and said, "Your Majesty, I'm afraid this trip to Tingzhou was intentional. News has reached the Western Turks that Ashina Helu will not come to Chang'an again by the end of this year. The war will begin by the end of next year, and this is an opportunity for you, the Tingzhou Governor, to make a contribution."

"Yes!" Lai Ji smiled bitterly and bowed, saying, "This is the only way. I hope to make meritorious contributions and have His Majesty issue an order to allow me to return."

The most important punishment for Lai Ji was the emperor's last words: he was not allowed to return without an imperial edict.

If Lai Ji wanted to return to Chang'an, he would at least need the emperor's edict.

"Don't worry. The Duke of Pengcheng has become the Minister of the Central Secretariat at such a young age, let alone you. Besides, I am still here at the court." Changsun Wuji raised his glass and nodded seriously to Lai Ji, saying, "Bon voyage, and a bright future."

"Thank you, Duke." Lai Ji raised his glass and drank it all.

Changsun Wuji put down his wine glass, then watched Lai Ji jump on his horse and ride towards Anxi.

Turning around, Changsun Wuji got on the carriage and returned to Chang'an City.

……

The carriage moved slowly along the street.

"Da Lang!" Changsun Wuji's voice came from the carriage.

Chang Sun Chong immediately entered the carriage and bowed to Chang Sun Wuji, saying, "Aye!"

"Pass the word down, and have all the officials in the court start self-inspection immediately. No matter which family has hidden land and owes taxes, as long as they all re-register and pay the taxes within this year, the court will not pursue any responsibility. However, next year, when Li Ji's affairs are over, I will investigate. Don't blame me for being ruthless then." Changsun Wuji's face was serious.

"Yes!" Chang Sun Chong bowed solemnly, but soon he raised his head carefully and said, "Then, Master, what about the other families?"

"Aristocratic families!" Changsun Wuji sneered softly and said, "Aristocratic families, how can they obey me just because I say something? The officials in the court can easily be controlled by simply revising Yin Tian's punishment next year. When the investigation is carried out, even the death penalty can be handed down. But aristocratic families, they can't be made to obey me just because I say a few words."

Lai Ji was investigated only because he had hidden 10,000 acres of land, but the amount of hidden land owned by aristocratic families was in the hundreds of thousands of acres.

But Changsun Wuji can't make them pay the price with just a few words.

Even if the emperor spoke, no one, whether the current one or the previous one, would let them let go.

At most, it will make them more rigorous and difficult to check.

"Now that we have all this, the Duke of England will have an easier time." Changsun Wuji sighed. Li Ji was in charge of the matter of using military merits to grant land and investigate hidden fields throughout the world. Now that this has happened, as long as all officials are obedient, there will be a lot more fields in the local area.

I'm afraid that Li Ji's work will be completed soon.

"As for the affairs of the aristocratic families... forget it. Those are matters for the future. As long as the emperor doesn't catch them, it's fine. If he does, they'll be severely punished." Changsun Wuji raised his head slightly and muttered softly, "Xu Jingzong and Li Yifu, these two will probably be the emperor's most effective knives in the future."

Chang Sun Chong nodded with emotion.

Lai Ji had been banished from Chang'an, so someone would immediately fill the position of prime minister he left behind, and that person must be Xu Jingzong.

Once Xu Jingzong became the prime minister, it became difficult to control him.

There is also Li Yifu, who is also not an easy person to deal with. You know, he was originally a tutor to Prince Jin, but later because he betrayed Prince Jin, he ended up becoming the Prince's attendant, the Imperial Secretary, and now he has even become the Yellow Gate Minister.

The next level up from being the Imperial Court Minister is the Prime Minister.

Li Yifu's progress was faster than anyone expected.

"I hope they don't make any mistakes." Changsun Wuji looked at Changsun Chong and sneered, "Your Majesty is still virtuous. He is only using these two to target the aristocratic families of the world. If they become emperors themselves, the emperor will certainly not protect them. Such things have happened during the Zhenguan period."

When Xu Jingzong and Li Yifu helped the emperor keep an eye on the people of the world, the people of the world would also keep an eye on them. Once they made a mistake, they would inevitably rise up and attack them.

"Yes!" Chang Sun Chong nodded vigorously.

……

The first day of December is the new moon.

Xu Jingzong was the Yellow Gate Minister and the Vice Prime Minister.

Li Yifu was promoted to Huangmen Shilang, and Gao Zhizhou was promoted to Zhengyi Dafu.

Su Liangsi was promoted to Chief Censor.

……

In the Liangyi Hall, Li Chengqian sat on the imperial couch, looking at Xu Jingzong and Li Yifu, and said, "Two things."

"Yes!" Xu Jingzong and Li Yifu bowed together.

"Because of Lai Qing's matter, this time there are a lot of fields that can be used to reward meritorious officials and resettle the people. You and the Ministry of Revenue should handle it properly." Li Chengqian nodded slightly.

"Here!"

"But don't relax at all because of this. You should keep in touch with the local recorders and military officers to ensure that such incidents of occupying people's land will not happen again." Li Chengqian's expression became serious. The aristocratic families and officials only care about eating and not fighting. Sooner or later, their old habits will relapse.

"Yes!" Xu Jingzong and Li Yifu bowed solemnly.

"There's another thing," Li Chengqian said, looking up. "The matter of the money department has been finalized and will be put into operation next year. Duke Zhao will be in charge of it. You two should also participate in it. Please proceed carefully and slowly step by step."

"Yes!" Xu Jingzong and Li Yifu looked a little ugly.

Although Lai Ji was not Changsun Wuji's man, he was very close to him.

When Lai Ji was demoted to the governor of Tingzhou, Changsun Wuji went to see him off in person. This alone was enough to prove that Xu Jingzong and Li Yifu had severely offended Changsun Wuji.

But fortunately, they have the emperor behind them.

"Next year is the best opportunity." Li Chengqian raised his hand slightly and said, "As for the hidden fields, since the noble families and officials were punished this time, they won't dare to act recklessly for a while. As for the counterfeit coins, since the whole country is investigating the private minting of counterfeit coins, there won't be any major disturbances for a while."

In fact, what really made everyone retreat were the 50,000 soldiers who returned from the Goguryeo battlefield.

In order to grant land based on military merit, the emperor found out more hidden land and then distributed a considerable portion of it to the soldiers.

It was also because of this that when the emperor wanted to investigate the private minting of counterfeit coins, the soldiers in the army and their families would fully assist, so that this matter had a foundation in the local area.

"Next year, and the year after that." Li Chengqian took a deep breath and said, "Next year is because of the great victory in Ping Rang. If we can also achieve a great victory in the war against the Western Turks the year after, then everything will be able to proceed more smoothly. The government will be clean and the people will be prosperous. Only then can the world be said to have a bit of the glory of the eternal rule."

"We, the ministers, will certainly do our utmost to promote the rule of Yongwei." Xu Jingzong and Li Yifu bowed vigorously at the same time.

The Zhenguan Reign.

Always keep this rule.

Sure enough, the emperor was comparing himself with the previous emperor.

"Okay, that's it." Li Chengqian waved his hand slightly.

"We will take our leave." Xu Jingzong and Li Yifu bowed at the same time, then slowly turned around and left Liangyi Hall.

Li Chengqian turned sideways and said, "Issue the decree to appoint Pei Yan as the attendant."

“Yes!” Zhang Wenguan, the Secretary of the Central Secretariat, Liu Fan, the Imperial Secretary, and Shangguan Yi, the Imperial Secretary and Recorder, all bowed.

"Okay, let's do this." Li Chengqian waved his hand slightly, then stood up and walked out of the Liangyi Hall.

……

Sitting on the imperial carriage, Li Chengqian walked towards Ganlu Palace with a calm expression.

He raised his eyes and looked at the sky above his head.

The sky is clear.

Lai Ji was dismissed from his position as prime minister, Xu Jingzong took his place as prime minister, Li Yifu became the Yellow Gate Minister, and Su Liangsi became the Chief Censor.

The position of Chief Censor is extremely critical. Once there is solid evidence, even the prime minister can impeach someone.

Li Chengqian's control over the court was further improved.

"There is a vacancy among the officials, and we need to find someone to fill it." Li Chengqian narrowed his eyes slightly.

Liu Fan was filling Li Yiyan's position. Now that Li Yifu was promoted to the position of Imperial Court Minister, his vacant position needed to be filled by someone else.

……

In a blink of an eye, it is the 16th day of the twelfth lunar month, and the winter wind is bitterly cold.

The Ministry of Personnel's registration office for the imperial examinations.

A burly young scholar holding a business card, wearing a green robe and a black hat, came to the front.

The official from the Ministry of Personnel sitting behind the desk raised his head slightly, not even glancing at the name card placed beside him, and asked directly, "What's your name and family background?"

The young scholar bowed and said seriously, "Di Renjie, a scholar from the Imperial College, is from Taiyuan, Bingzhou. His grandfather, Di Xiaoxu, was a man from Linying County. In the early Zhenguan period, he served as Shangshu Zuocheng, Envoy Zhijie in charge of the military affairs of Bianzhou, and a Jinzi Guanglu Dafu. His father, Di Zhixun, was currently serving as the Chief Clerk of the Kuizhou Military Governor's Office."

The official from the Ministry of Personnel calmly recorded everything Di Renjie said, then raised his head and said calmly, "Next!"

(End of this chapter)