Tang Dynasty, my wife Wu Zetian

Chapter 38 Zhangsun Wuji's Speculation

Li Zhi knew that Di Renjie was recommended by Yan Liben, and he deliberately mentioned Di Renjie in front of him, hoping that he could play the supporting role.

Hearing Yan Liben's recommendation, he smiled slightly and sighed, "That must be him. This person actually offered such a magical item. I would like to meet him in person."

Li Yifu saw that the emperor wanted to use Di Renjie. He had been a deputy minister in the Ministry of Personnel and knew something about Di Renjie, so he immediately catered to his wishes.

"Your Majesty, I have heard that during Di Renjie's tenure as a judge, he handled a large number of cases, yet no one complained of injustice. With such talent, he should be appointed Junior Minister of the Dali Temple."

Yan Liben glanced at him, cupped his hands and said, "I second the motion."

Han Ai objected, "Di Renjie, a mere judicial official in the Military Governor's Office, suddenly rose to the position of Junior Secretary of the Supreme Court. This is quite against the rules."

The Dudufu Facao was a lower rank of the seventh rank, a civil servant. Appointments were usually based on the rank of the official; the higher the rank, the higher the official rank.

Lai Ji asked, "Excuse me, Minister Yan, what is Di Renjie's current rank?"

Yan Liben said, "Di Renjie is currently a lower-rank official of the eighth rank, a military officer."

Han Ai said, "How can a mere eighth-rank official be qualified to lead the Dali Temple? Your Majesty, I think you could give Di Renjie the position of county magistrate to test his abilities first."

Li Ji said calmly, "Prime Minister Han, Di Renjie presented such a precious prescription to Your Majesty in a dream. His contribution is so great that it deserves to be recorded in history. How can you only give it to a county magistrate?"

Xu Jingzong said, "I think we can first promote Di Renjie to the rank of Imperial Physician and let him serve as Junior Secretary of the Dali Temple. If he is not competent, we can dismiss him."

Han Ai said anxiously, "The rank of Imperial Physician is the lowest rank of the fifth grade. Even if Di Renjie has made great contributions, he is still less than 30 years old. If he is promoted ten levels in a row, I am afraid he will not be able to convince the court officials."

Xu Jingzong said leisurely, "Princess Shang, the son-in-law of the emperor, has also been promoted ten levels. Di Renjie's contribution to the gunpowder is no less than that of Princess Shang. Why can't he do that?"

Yan Liben suddenly said, "Your Majesty, this medicine is a national treasure. Di Renjie has made great contributions by presenting it. Logically, he should be granted a title of nobility and appointed as prime minister."

Then he changed the subject: "However, he is so young, and he has suddenly been promoted to a high position. I am afraid he will become arrogant. Moreover, he has no foundation in the court. His sudden promotion to a high position may arouse jealousy, which will not be good for him."

Li Zhi nodded and said, "According to your opinion, what should we do?"

Yan Liben said, "Why not let Di Renjie temporarily take over as the Junior Secretary of the Dali Temple? Wait until he shows his talent, and then we can appoint him as the official. By then, no one will question his position."

Han Ai wanted to object, but Lai Ji pulled him back and he kept silent.

Li Zhi nodded and said, "According to Lord Yan's suggestion, Di Renjie will be promoted to the rank of Imperial Court Official and will temporarily serve as Junior Official of the Dali Temple."

At this time, Liu Rengui suddenly said: "Your Majesty, this medicine can be used not only in civilians, but also in military preparations. I think it must be kept strictly confidential."

Li Zhi smiled and said, "What Liu Qing said is absolutely right."

Liu Rengui said, "I request that Your Majesty issue an edict. Any official who makes irresponsible remarks about what I saw today must be severely punished, regardless of their position!"

Li Ji, Xu Jingzong, Li Yifu and others also requested imperial decree.

Lai Ji suddenly said, "Your Majesty, there are ministers in the court who are unable to come and observe due to illness. Could you please tell me?"

Li Zhi knew he was referring to Zhangsun Wuji and said, "Such a major event should be known to General Zhangsun. Go back and tell him about it."

He turned to Zhang Duohai and said, "If the Queen asks about this matter, you can tell the truth."

Zhang Da Hai was having a headache about this matter, and hurriedly agreed when he heard it.

There was a loud explosion in the forbidden garden, and the entire harem was alarmed.

Wu Meiniang was bathing in the back hall. When she heard the explosion, she was startled and thought that the palace was shaking. She hurriedly called Jiang Shanggong to ask.

Concubine Jiang said, "Your Highness, the sound came from the Forbidden Garden, not an earthquake."

Wu Meiniang put on her clothes with the help of the palace maids, went outside the palace, and looked towards the north.

"Is Your Majesty in the Forbidden Garden?"

Concubine Jiang said, "His Majesty is in the tiger enclosure, and he has summoned all the ministers, including Junior Supervisor Zhang."

Wu Meiniang nodded and went back to the palace to dress up. Not long after, Zhang Duohai came back.

Wu Meiniang asked what happened, and Zhang Duohai sent the servants away and told her about the test explosion.

Wu Meiniang was also surprised after hearing this. After a moment of contemplation, she asked, "Did Di Renjie really present that magical medicine to Your Majesty in a dream?"

Zhang Duohai said, "Since Your Majesty says so, it seems to be correct. Otherwise, how would Your Majesty know that Di Renjie is only an eighth-rank official?"

Wu Meiniang nodded and said, "Send someone to investigate this person."

Zhang Duohai took the order and left.

Li Zhi didn't know that this test explosion further deepened his prestige among his ministers.

Originally, the ministers thought that the emperor only wanted to invite them to a banquet, but they didn't expect that the emperor had always been concerned about state affairs, which was indeed a blessing for the country.

Could an eighth-rank official really create such a miraculous medicine? Most of the officials didn't believe it.

They would rather believe that it was the emperor's virtue that moved heaven, and with the blessing of the ancestral gods, that allowed the Tang Dynasty to obtain this magical object through Di Renjie.

The ministers gathered in the Secretariat to discuss how to break through the Sanmenxia reefs.

Just as the ministers were discussing specific strategies, Han Ai suddenly snorted. "Instead of discussing this, why don't you discuss how to persuade His Majesty to cancel Di Renjie's promotion? That's the most important thing."

Yan Lide said in a hoarse voice, "If Han Xiangru doesn't want to offer any advice, then he can leave. There's no need to discuss Di Renjie's matter any further."

Han Ai laughed and said, "Mr. Yan probably said this because Di Renjie is your brother's disciple."

Yan Lide's face darkened. He said, "Di Renjie was conferred the title because he presented gunpowder in a dream, not because of my brother's recommendation. Don't confuse the two."

Xu Jingzong suddenly advised, "Mr. Yan, Han Xiang is the prime minister after all. If you argue with him, won't you suffer a loss?"

Yan Lide immediately became angry and said, "So what if he's the Prime Minister? When I was with Emperor Taizong at the Prince of Qin's Palace, he was just a little boy."

Han Ai also had a bad temper. He angrily said, "Old man, don't take advantage of your age. You're just lucky. You've only gotten to where you are today with some strange and lewd tricks. What talent do you have?"

Yan Lide was so angry that his beard stood up.

Xu Jingzong hurriedly said, "Lord Yan, this is the government hall, don't fight with Prime Minister Han!"

Yan Lide said angrily: "I am going to quit my job as an official, but I will teach this rude young man a lesson today!"

He was about to rush over and fight Han Ai, but fortunately Yan Liben and Lu Chengqing stopped him.

Lai Ji also grabbed Han Ai and pulled him directly out of the government hall.

Han Ai desperately tried to shake him off, but couldn't. She angrily said, "Why are you pulling me? Yan Lide, that old bastard, is so abominable for taking advantage of his age!"

Lai Ji said in a deep voice, "Xu Jingzong was deliberately stirring up trouble just now. Didn't you see that?"

Han Ai was stunned for a moment, then finally calmed down a little.

Lai Ji added, "There's really no need for you to dwell on Di Renjie's matter."

The anger that Han Ai had just suppressed surfaced again.

"Are we going to let him go just like that? If someone like Di Renjie can soar to the top, then the court will be filled with children from common families. How can we have a place?"

Di Renjie was born into the Di family of Taiyuan. His ancestors were a noble family of the Dongqiang. After being sinicized, they became commoners and could not enter the officialdom through family connections.

He went to Beijing to take the imperial examination a few years ago, passed the Mingjing exam, and was able to enter the officialdom through the imperial examination.

Lai Ji said, "You have also seen the power of gunpowder. Your Majesty was visited by Di Renjie in a dream. He will be extremely valuable in the future. How can you stop him? You should quickly tell Duke Zhao about this and discuss countermeasures."

Han Ai's heart trembled and he nodded in agreement.

The two of them took a carriage and came to the Duke of Zhao's mansion together. They hurried into Changsun Wuji's study and told him about the Forbidden Garden.

Changsun Wuji was also surprised after hearing this, and asked carefully about the details, not willing to miss a single one.

After listening to this, Changsun Wuji said in a deep voice, "So, Your Majesty recently ordered a large amount of sulfur and chlorine to be sent to the palace. Is it to refine this medicine?"

Han Ai said, "That's right."

Changsun Wuji came to the bookcase where medical books were stored, searched carefully, quickly found a medical book, and flipped through it quickly.

Lai Ji hurriedly asked: "Mr. Changsun, what are you doing..."

As Changsun Wuji flipped through the pages, he said, "This is a handwritten copy of the Danjing written by Sun Simiao in the fifth year of the Yonghui reign. I stumbled upon it, and now I have it..."

Walk to the desk and spread it out for them to see.

Han Ai lowered his head and read two lines, his expression changed drastically.

"Grind two ounces of sulfur and two ounces of molten iron into powder and place in a pot... Take three pounds of raw and cooked charcoal and fry it. Wait for the charcoal to anneal, and remove it while it's still warm... This is very similar to the composition of your Majesty's gunpowder!"

Chang Sun Wuji said, "It says here that this is a method of submerging sulfur, which can make the sulfur's medicinal properties spread."

Lai Ji said, "I just find it strange. How could Di Renjie offer such a wonderful prescription?"

Han Ai asked, "I heard that Sun Simiao is known as a living immortal. Could it be that he is behind this?"

Changsun Wuji's eyes flashed, and he said, "I recently received news that the Wu clan sent a Qianniu guard to find Sun Simiao."

Their expressions changed drastically, and they both said, "Could it be that witch's conspiracy again?"

Changsun Wuji narrowed his eyes and asked, "If it was really her plan, why did she let Sun Simiao help Di Renjie and offer this recipe?"

Han Ai said, "Di Renjie must have some connection with that evil woman. She wants to support this person to come to the capital so that she can deal with you and me."

Changsun Wuji pondered for a moment, then shook his head and said, "Don't jump to conclusions yet. Let's wait and see after Di Renjie arrives in Chang'an."

Lai Ji reminded him, "Mr. Changsun, this book cannot remain among the people any longer."

Changsun Wuji nodded. "Indeed, we must not allow the barbarians to obtain the formula for the miraculous medicine from this book. Tomorrow you will submit a petition to His Majesty requesting that this book be banned. You must also send someone to bring Sun Simiao back to Chang'an and place him under house arrest."

The two agreed in unison.

(End of this chapter)