Back to the prosperous Tang Dynasty to be the emperor

Chapter 245 You Have No Choice With This Deal (1)

Midsummer nights always come late, and it is already the end of the unitary hour, but the sky is still not completely dark, and there is a bit of light rippling in the sky, but the brightness is extremely low, which is not enough for lighting , it was almost time to light the lamps, and the lights in the Manying Palace were lit up one after another, but Li Xian's study was still completely dark—it wasn't because the servants were lazy and didn't light the lamps, but because Li Xian refused to come down. People's hospitality, sitting alone in the dark, silently deducing various changes in the situation, and at the same time waiting for someone, waiting for the arrival of Prince Li Hong!

The crown prince will definitely come, and Li Xian has full confidence in this point. As for when it will arrive, it is hard to say, but even if the crown prince does not come today, Li Xian is not very worried, just because the initiative is in his hands now , Li Xian is not afraid that the prince will not give in. At worst, it is okay to kill the prince severely when the matter is at a critical moment. Of course, when the time comes, the price will be far higher than it is now. Several times, in Li Xian's opinion, with the shrewd temperament of the crown prince, he would not fail to see this point, so the crown prince will definitely come today!

"Your Highness, His Royal Highness has arrived."

Just as Li Xian was contemplating, there was a sound of hasty footsteps in the darkness. Li Xian knew it was Gao Miao who was coming, and immediately raised his head, and saw Gao Miao flashing out from behind the screen. After a few steps, he rushed to Li Xian's body, bowed his body, and reported the report with trembling voice.

"Well, I won't meet Gu, just bring him here."

No need to ask, Li Xian knew that the prince must be pretending to be sneaking when he arrived at this time, and he didn't want to mobilize the crowd to welcome him, so he gave a casual order without any other choice.

"Yes, slaves obey."

Gao Miao had obtained Li Xian's secret order early in the morning, and squatted at the gatehouse waiting for the arrival of the prince, but he didn't understand how Li Xian got to this point, but he didn't dare to ask questions. , not daring to be negligent, hurriedly replied, and hurried to the gate of the mansion.

"But the seventh brother?"

Not long after Gao Miao left, Li Hong walked into the study slowly, and saw a majestic figure sitting in the dark, but he couldn't see the face clearly, and doubts arose in his heart, so he hesitated to ask a question road.

"It's the younger brother. Since the prince's elder brother is here, please sit down."

As soon as Li Hong finished speaking, Li Xian, who was sitting upright, stood up, chuckled lightly, and extended the invitation.

"Why didn't the seventh brother light the lamp? Could it be that we were short of gas money?"

Hearing Li Xian's voice, Li Hong couldn't help but feel relieved. He walked up to him without restraint, flicked his sleeves, sat opposite Li Xian, and joked with a smile.

"Things in the dark should be done in the dark, doesn't the prince brother understand?"

Li Xian reversed the respectful and modest way he was when dealing with Li Hong in the past, and replied without any sympathy, and immediately pushed Li Hong against the wall, his face was a bit unresponsive, but fortunately it was very dark at this time, There is no risk of being obedient and ugly.

"Oh? Hahaha... Seventh brother is really unreasonable, and I have been taught for my brother."

Li Hong obviously didn't expect that Li Xian would pick up his words so clearly when they first met, he couldn't help being taken aback, and then burst out laughing, using laughter to cover up his embarrassment.

"Brother Prince is too modest, so you came here pretending, isn't that why?"

Li Xian's way of negotiating deeply, he didn't intend to give the prince a chance to breathe a sigh of relief, and he was unrelentingly sharp to the end, making it clear that he wanted to take Li Hong's stance hard.

"Haha, okay, refreshing! Since the seventh brother said so, it would be hypocritical for the brother to deny it. Yes, the reason for the brother's visit is to have a good discussion with the seventh brother. After all, it is a matter of mutual benefit. You It’s okay for my brothers to get what they need.”

After all, Li Hong was not an ordinary person, and since he didn't want to be overwhelmed by Li Xian before the negotiation even started, he just laughed and put on a posture of opening the window to speak out.

"It's the best, what does the prince brother need? Hey, there are no shortages here, and it's not difficult to change it. It depends on the prince's brother's reluctance."

Li Hong laughed heartily, but Li Xian still had a serious look, he didn't intend to dance with Li Hong at all, and replied aggressively.

"Reluctant to give up is nothing more than a price. Since the seventh brother said so, he must put some chips on the table. If not, how should he choose to be called a brother?"

Since Li Hong dared to come here pretending to be casual, he was prepared to be slaughtered. He was psychologically prepared for Li Xian's aggressiveness, so he did not lose his mental balance because of this, and replied calmly.

"Bargains? Well, the bargaining chip for the younger brother is that the younger brother can do whatever the prince wants. Is this chip the prince is satisfied with?" Li Xian smiled confidently and gave a clear answer.

"Oh? Seventh brother is serious? As far as I know, the queen mother only gave a deadline of five days. This matter must not be joked. If there is a deviation, it will be a serious disaster!" Li Hong is obviously not as good as Li Xian Optimistic, in fact, Li Hong did not have the idea of ​​a complete victory when he came here this time, but only thought that he could win the head of the empress Wu and temporarily gain some advantages in public opinion, so as to lay a solid foundation for the next general attack. It's just a good foundation. Hearing Li Xian's words with such certainty, he couldn't help being taken aback, looked at Li Xian suspiciously, and hurriedly asked questions.

"Is the queen mother? Ha, if it is really done according to the queen mother's wishes, can the elder brother of the prince possibly afford it? Since the younger brother dares to give the price, he is sure of the younger brother. It depends on whether the elder brother dares to bet." Li With a cold smile, he ridiculed Li Hong mercilessly.

"Okay, since the seventh brother dares to gamble, why wouldn't you dare to be an elder brother? At worst, he would risk his whole body cut to pieces. After all, what do you want to do for your elder brother?" Upon hearing Li Xian's words vaguely mentioning Empress Wu's promise, Li Hong's heart tightened, his face changed a few times, he gritted his teeth, put on a decisive look, and replied proudly.

"Your brother doesn't want much. With this turmoil, there must be many resignations in the court. We should choose some talented people to fill in. My younger brother thinks that Sima Wei Wei of Luzhou can be the minister of the Ministry of punishment; Sima Liu Chi of Jiangzhou can be the minister of affairs. Lin Qi, the magistrate of Qinghe County, should be the young secretary of Dali Temple... The censor Luo Bin Wang Gang dared to advise, and it seems that there is nothing wrong with being the censor Zhongcheng; He should be someone of great use, I wonder if the prince thinks so?" Since it was an offer, Li Xian would not be polite in the slightest, and he uttered a series of names in one mouth, which made Li Hong's eyes wide open. Madly taking gold stars.

"Seventh brother is easy to calculate, what if I can't do it?"

The price Li Xian offered was really too high. Not only did the Lu Wang party who were driven out of the court by Li Hong exhausted last year all come back to the court, but each of them was promoted, including Li Xian himself. With the promoted officials, the influence of the two kings Lu and Ying could expand to the point where they could control the court in an instant, and this was obviously not the result that Li Hong was happy to see.

"Can't do it? Hey, it's a deal, you don't have a choice!"

Li Xian sneered, and responded very arrogantly.

"you……"

Li Xian's words were really too harsh. Although Li Hong was born with a calm personality, he couldn't bear it any longer. He straightened up suddenly and wanted to curse his mother angrily, but when the words came to his lips, he stopped dejectedly. , because what Li Xian said was the truth, at this moment, he, Li Hong, really didn't have much choice—if he didn't agree to Li Xian's request, in case Li Xian did something secretly, he would completely cheat Li Hong However, if he was turned over by Empress Wu, it would be a big deal. It is hard to say whether the crown prince can be kept.

"There is one more thing. The Mingchun Grand Competition is coming soon. The younger brother thinks that this is a matter for the community. The chief examiner should be appointed by a virtuous person. The sixth brother has a lot of experience in rectifying education and politics. It is expected that the sixth brother will be the chief examiner. Come to think of it. Brother Prince won't object?"

Li Xian ignored Li Hong's anger at all, and continued talking on his own.

"Huh..." Li Hong was trembling with anger from Li Xian's attitude, but now his lifeline was in Li Xian's hands, and he couldn't get angry even if he got angry. After a long silence, he raised his head and let out a sigh of relief, and said in a deep voice: "I remember what Seventh Brother said. It's just that there are priorities, and you can't do things in a hurry. You have to think about it first."

"Brother Prince is wise, the appointment and dismissal of the officials can be done after a little delay, but the matter of Dabi cannot be delayed. In the next early court, I hope that Brother Prince can recommend this matter first. As for other matters? , Brother Prince, please rest assured, I know what I know." Li Xian was not polite at all when he raised the conditions, and he reached out his hand when it was time to reach out, but he didn't make the matter go to a dead end, and gave the prince a buffer.

"Since that's the case, let's think about one or two for my brother, can it be done in another day?"

Li Hong made up his mind to defeat Empress Wu's party in one fell swoop, but he didn't want to face the situation of driving tigers out of the front door and wolves in the back door. He refused to easily agree to Li Xian's lion's big mouth, so he replied in a deep voice road.

"It's true, the elder brother of the prince will go well, and the younger brother will not see him off."

Li Xian put on an extremely high posture, as if he was convinced by Li Hong, he didn't seem to care about the result of Li Hong's choice at all, and issued the order to evict the guest indifferently.

"Seventh brother, isn't he afraid of getting fat because his brother broke his promise?"

Li Hong couldn't be more angry with Li Xian's attitude, so he gritted his teeth and said a harsh word in a sinister manner.

"The elder brother of the prince has this freedom, and the younger brother naturally has the freedom of choice."

Li Xian rolled his eyes, shrugged his shoulders indifferently, and pushed forward with a straightforward sentence. The reason behind this is very simple. Even if Empress Wu's party is defeated this time, as long as Empress Wu is still there, there is still a chance to make a comeback , and this time may not be very long. If the crown prince reneges on his promise and loses weight at this time, no one will dare to help him when the next big conflict breaks out. started.

"Okay, very good, hey, the seventh brother stays and takes my farewell."

Seeing that he couldn't stimulate Li Xian's nerves, Li Hong didn't want to waste any more words, so he smiled sinisterly, then stood up, flicked his sleeves, and went out...

(End of this chapter)