Datang: Just been appointed as the crown prince, the counterattack system is here

Chapter 129 Kill one thousand enemies and lose eight hundred of your own! [Please subscribe]

Wei Zheng was never a counselor to Li Shimin.

Rather, it is a 'corrector' to correct one's gains and losses.

Now, Wei Zheng actually said that he had a way to solve a conspiracy that he couldn't solve, which really surprised Li Shimin.

Even Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui, who had always been giving advice to Li Shimin, looked at Wei Zheng in surprise.

Wei Zheng said calmly, "What is an open conspiracy? It's an open and aboveboard strategy that conforms to the current situation."

"What is a conspiracy? Guanzi said: 'With the Yin of Nühua within and the Yang of Quni without, he was able to become the Son of Heaven. This was Tang's conspiracy.'"

"Ok?"

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin, Fang Xuanling and others looked at each other in confusion.

Wei Zheng continued, "As Lüshi Chunqiu says: 'If something is complete, it will inevitably be incomplete; if it is extreme, it will inevitably reverse; if it is full, it will inevitably be reduced.'"

"Alright, alright, tell me your idea!" Li Shimin was in no mood to listen to Wei Zheng's ramblings, so he just waved his hand to interrupt him.

Wei Zheng opened his mouth, then sighed helplessly and said sternly, "My method is very simple. An open conspiracy requires a conspiracy to be solved!"

"How do you solve the conspiracy?"

Fang Xuanling couldn't help but ask curiously.

Li Shimin and Du Ruhui also turned their heads to look at Wei Zheng and listened carefully.

Wei Zheng smiled faintly, looked around at the three of them, and said, "As the saying goes, everything reaches its extreme and then reverses. The extreme of extreme yang is extreme yin. Your Majesty has been plotted against by them using past and present events. Although it is an open plot, if we talk about plotting, have you forgotten the Crown Prince?"

"Uh,"

Fang Xuanling's mouth twitched, and he couldn't help but turn his head to look at Li Shimin.

Li Shimin narrowed his eyes slightly and said coldly, "Are you planning to use the prince to deal with them?"

"Exactly!"

Wei Zheng frankly admitted, "His Royal Highness is the master of conspiracy and intrigue. This is a well-known fact. Using His Royal Highness to deal with them will definitely break that conspiracy!"

"absurd!"

Li Shimin angrily rebuked him, "I am the Son of Heaven, and the Son of Heaven should preside over the sacrifice. How can the people and the court trust the Crown Prince if he takes my place as the presiding priest?"

"Your Majesty, don't worry. The Crown Prince has a good reputation within the court. Furthermore, it's in line with filial piety for the Crown Prince to preside over the ceremony on Your Majesty's behalf! I believe the people will also recognize the Crown Prince!"

"you!"

When Li Shimin heard what Wei Zheng said, he almost cried in anger.

This is crazy!

Everyone listen!
Is he speaking the Nima language?!

The prince has a very good reputation in the court, so does that mean I have a very bad reputation in the court?

The Crown Prince presided over the sacrifice in accordance with filial piety, and the people all recognized him. But I am unfilial and the people don't recognize me either?!

Thinking of this, Li Shimin became more and more angry. He suddenly stood up from his seat and roared, "Where is my sword!?"

"Your Majesty's anger! Your Majesty's anger!"

Seeing this, Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui hurriedly spoke out to stop Li Shimin, and then looked at Wei Zheng in silence.

I was like, what kind of bullshit solution is this?!

Let the Crown Prince preside over the ceremony while Your Majesty stays aside. Although it may be possible to resolve their conspiracy, where will Your Majesty put his face?

Isn't this killing one thousand enemies and losing eight hundred of your own?!

However, facing Li Shimin's rage, Wei Zheng remained unafraid and continued:
"Your Majesty, think about it. How many successful cases have there been in history of offering sacrifices to pray for rain? It's safe to say that nine out of ten times, eight out of ten will fail. So, will your prayer for rain definitely succeed?"

"Since you know it won't succeed, Your Majesty, why do you still want to do it? If it's for the so-called reputation, I think it's unnecessary!"

"What the people truly remember is not that Your Majesty prayed for rain for them, but that you gave them a way to survive! If the people have no way to survive, even if Your Majesty prays for rain ten thousand times and gets himself bruised and battered, the people still won't sympathize with you, won't recognize you, and may even think you're a tyrant like Emperor Yang of Sui!"

"presumptuous!!"

Li Shimin shouted loudly, but his anger had obviously subsided a lot.

Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui looked at each other thoughtfully.

But Wei Zheng continued, "If Your Majesty entrusts the task of praying for rain to the Crown Prince, and if he succeeds, that would be a good thing. If he fails, Your Majesty still has room for change. But if Your Majesty fails, is there still room for change?"

"This"

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin and the other two looked at each other in surprise.

Suddenly I felt that what Wei Zheng said made some sense.

"But, even Your Majesty cannot bear the cruelty of the sacrifice, how can the prince bear it?" Fang Xuanling asked worriedly.

Wei Zheng chuckled, "Does the Minister of the Central Secretariat think that the Crown Prince is the kind of person who allows himself to be manipulated?"

"What do you mean?"

Li Shimin's face darkened: "He dares to disobey the order?!"

"I hope that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince will disobey the order or delay receiving it, so that Your Majesty will have enough time to mobilize food and deal with the disaster. Even if His Royal Highness the Crown Prince arouses public anger, Your Majesty can still make amends!" Wei Zheng said with a smile.

Li Shimin's eyes lit up when he heard this.

Fang Xuanling looked at Wei Zheng strangely, seeming to want to say something but stopping himself.

He remembered that he had suggested to Li Shimin last time that Li Chengqian take the blame in order to get Li Chengqian back to Chang'an, but he was scolded by Wei Zheng, who said that even if it was for Li Chengqian's good, he could not damage Li Chengqian's reputation as the crown prince.

Now, after hearing Wei Zheng's suggestion, he suddenly had a feeling that this guy Wei Zheng probably had no good intentions.

Could it be that he is also a princeling?

Thinking of this, Fang Xuanling subconsciously looked at Li Shimin, only to see that Li Shimin's eyes flickered, his brows frowned and relaxed, and he was obviously struggling with Wei Zheng's advice.

As a father, it is really unkind of him to scheme against his son in this way.

But as an emperor, it is normal to do so.

After all, there is no family affection in the royal family.

What's more, with Li Chengqian's character, he would never let himself suffer any loss.

If he were asked to go through the pain of offering sacrifices and praying for rain, he would probably blow up the altar.

But what he did was a great thing for Li Shimin.

Not only did he resolve the conspiracy, but he also resolved the pressure brought to him by his "perfect son", which was like killing two birds with one stone.

After a brief silence, Li Shimin turned to look at Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui and said calmly, "What do you think of Wei Zheng's suggestion?"

I rub!

You're leaving this decision to us? Are you planning on letting us take the blame?!
Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui were speechless. Somehow, they suddenly missed Zhangsun Wuji. Usually, at this time, Zhangsun Wuji would help Li Shimin make decisions, and then Zhangsun Wuji would take the blame.

Now that Changsun Wuji is not here, it is naturally their turn.

They looked hesitant, then looked bitter and nodded helplessly.

"it is good!"

Li Shimin was delighted, and then decisively issued an edict: "The Crown Prince's loyalty, filial piety, benevolence and righteousness have moved Heaven. I follow Heaven's will and specially summon the Crown Prince to the capital to offer sacrifices and pray for rain on my behalf!"

Upon hearing this, Fang Xuanling and the other two twitched their lips, thinking how shameless this person was to let his son take the blame and call it following God's will?
However, since the Li family is like this, they all accepted it.

So they said in unison: "We obey your order!"

On the other side, Pei Ji’s mansion.

"Pei Sikong should know that so-called talent alone isn't enough to push forward new policies. If you employ the wrong people, no matter how talented they are, you might end up further away from your goals!"

The Cui family official said with a half-smile:
"Your Majesty is now vigorously promoting the reduction of officials and the use of so-called talented officials. However, you don't know that talented officials have many ideas!"

Pei Ji smiled noncommittally, then picked up the document in his hand, glanced at it, and said calmly, "The court's new policy is to open up the imperial examination system to recruit talents. Isn't this beneficial to you, the Five Surnames and Seven Families? Why, you're still not happy?"

"It's not that I'm unwilling, but my position is too low!" said the official of the Wang family with a smile.

Pei Ji snorted coldly and threw the document in his hand on the table. "Human greed is like a snake swallowing an elephant. What do you want to do? Do you want to replace my position?"

"Don't dare."

The Cui family official bowed hurriedly and said, "How dare we have such thoughts? Please, Pei Sikong, calm down!"

"Yes, Pei Sikong, I'm talking about the group of people in the Qin Palace. They replaced your group of old officials of Wude!"

As he spoke, the official from the Wang family changed the subject and said with a wry smile, "Besides, Pei Sikong and I are in the same boat, aren't we?"

Pei Ji thought about it and felt that there was some truth in what he said.

After the previous cooperation, he had established close ties with the people of the Five Surnames and Seven Families.

Ever since Li Chengqian reminded him that Li Shimin was going to take action against the old ministers of Wude, he had been thinking of ways to prevent himself and other old ministers of Wude from being expelled from the court by Li Shimin.

However, no matter how he struggled, Li Shimin's determination to clean up these old ministers of Wude never changed.

Just then, people from the Five Surnames and Seven Families found him.

By cooperating with the Five Surnames and Seven Families, he gradually consolidated his position and even drove Changsun Wuji out of the court.

However, compared to Changsun Wuji's fierce attack, Fang Xuanling seemed gentle, but in fact he was just using soft tactics.

He would not lay off a large number of Wude veterans at once, but would do so gradually and cautiously. For example, he would lay off one today and add another tomorrow, until all the Wude veterans were replaced, completely undermining Pei Ji's network of contacts.

Faced with such behavior, even if Pei Ji wanted to stop it, he was powerless.

Because Fang Xuanling had sufficient reasons for each reduction, and the other veteran officials of Wude would not unite to stop him just for the sake of one veteran official of Wude.

Therefore, Pei Ji had no choice but to cooperate with the Five Surnames and Seven Families again, taking advantage of the successive disasters to prevent Li Shimin from implementing the new policy.

But he said thoughtfully, "Do you really think His Majesty will back down on praying for rain?"

"hehe."

The officials of the Cui family and the Wang family smiled at each other, and then the official of the Wang family spoke first:

"Prince Pei, you don't know. During the Sui Dynasty, I served as a ceremonial officer in the Taichang Temple. The gruesomeness of the rain-praying ceremony is beyond your imagination. First, one must fast and bathe for three days, not eat or drink. Then, one must be tied naked with thorns and kneel on a high platform to perform the grand sacrificial ceremony. During the ceremony, there were various rituals, and the cutting of flesh and blood was horrific to watch!"

Having said that, he glanced at Pei Ji meaningfully and continued:
"Often, the person who presides over the sacrifice does not live more than three days after the ceremony. Do you think Your Majesty would really sacrifice his own life for those disaster victims?"

"This"

Pei Ji was speechless and swallowed subconsciously.

But then the Cui family official laughed and said, "Your Majesty, for the throne, killed his brothers and forced his father to death. What a heartless and ungrateful person he is! Pei Sikong, think about it, if Your Majesty understands the whole process of the sacrifice, will he still insist on praying for rain?"

"Not bad!"

Pei Ji smiled, then took a sip from his teacup and said, "Tell me, if His Majesty backs down from praying for rain, what should we do next?"

"In my opinion, if Your Majesty gives up praying for rain, we can advise Your Majesty and let the Prime Minister take responsibility!" said the royal official with a smile.

Pei Ji asked in confusion: "Why is this?"

He originally thought that these people from the five surnames and seven families would use their family influence to incite public opinion, criticize Emperor Li II, and then help him welcome back the retired Emperor Li Yuan.

However, these people from the five surnames and seven clans seemed to have no interest in welcoming back the retired emperor Li Yuan.

The Cui family official smiled and continued, "Although the Tang Dynasty is a new dynasty, certain things still have to follow the traditions of the old dynasties. For example, during the Han Dynasty, when a major disaster struck a country, it was usually the prime minister who took the initiative to take responsibility. However, since we don't have a prime minister in the Tang Dynasty, the first person to be recommended is the Minister of the Central Secretariat, Fang Xuanling!"

"Right! Once Fang Xuanling steps down, won't the task of reducing official positions fall into the hands of Minister Pei?" The Wang family official echoed, "Then Minister Pei can lay off whoever he wants, right?"

"it is good!"

When Pei Ji heard this, his eyes lit up and he couldn't help but applaud.

The Cui family official and the Wang family official exchanged glances, and then the Cui family official said, "If Pei Sikong is in charge of judging the officials, don't forget us, the people of the Five Surnames and Seven Families!"

"Ah!"

Looking at the two people's expectant eyes, Pei Ji chuckled and said slowly:
"It's said that 'there are no commoners in the upper class, and no nobles in the lower class.' It's not impossible for those of you from the Five Surnames and Seven Noble Houses to achieve high positions, but you must come up with some new measures for the New Policy. That way, I can speak more confidently in front of His Majesty!"

The officials from the Cui and Wang families smiled and nodded, but they thought to themselves: "Do you need to be so long-winded? In terms of competence, you are far behind Zhangsun Wuji and Fang Xuanling!"

However, just as the two were complaining about Pei Ji in their hearts, a voice suddenly came from outside the door: "Master, the Ninth Master said he is going back to Jiangling, and he came to say goodbye to you!"

"Ok?"

Pei Ji, who was originally full of pride, was stunned when he heard this, and then frowned and said, "He passed the test? He went back so soon?"

"In reply to the master, Jiu Ye said that the test was too easy and there was no reason for the court not to let him pass, so he didn't bother to wait for the results!"

"What!?"

Pei Ji was stunned when he heard this.

Even the officials of the Wang and Cui families were at a loss.

What do you mean the assessment is too easy and the court has no reason not to let him pass?

Could it be that Pei Sikong is playing us?

He had already colluded with Your Majesty, waiting for us to show our faces so he could capture us all in one fell swoop and use it as a token of his loyalty to Your Majesty?!

Thinking of this, the eyes of the officials from the Wang family and the Cui family when they looked at Pei Ji changed a little.

"Bastard thing!"

Pei Ji slammed the table, furious: "Let him in!"

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(End of this chapter)