The revitalization of the Tang Dynasty began with the Ganlu Incident.

As soon as he finished speaking, Wang Ya and Jia Su, who were standing to the side, both felt a sense of disbelief.

Whom did the newly appointed Prime Minister Li recommend?

Niu Sengru? Is he the one they remember?

Could they have misheard? Or is it that someone with the same name has appeared in officialdom?

It's no wonder they reacted that way.

It should be noted that for many years, the Niu and Li factions have been fighting each other, and at the worst point, they had swept up most of the court.

Even setting aside these issues, Li Deyu and Niu Sengru not only had differences in political views, but also deep personal grudges.

In the fifth year of the Taihe era, Li Deyu was serving as the military governor of Jiannan Xichuan.

As a strategically important town bordering Tibet to the west and Nanzhao to the south, the Tang court lost control of Weizhou, a key strategic location, after the Changqing Alliance. As a result, Jiannan Xichuan faced numerous difficulties and was often attacked from both sides.

Under these circumstances, Li Deyu, through various means, finally persuaded the Tibetan general Xidamou to surrender Weizhou City to the Tang Dynasty.

As a result, when the memorial was sent to the Secretariat, the then-Prime Minister Niu Sengru resolutely rejected it on the grounds of violating the alliance.

Knowing that Tatum had privately requested to surrender, Li Deyu had already accepted the surrender offer to prevent any unforeseen circumstances.

However, the imperial court subsequently ordered him to send Xidamou and others back to Tibet and to abandon Weizhou in order to maintain the peace of the alliance.

As a traitorous general who had privately surrendered to the Tang Dynasty, the outcome of Xi Damou's repatriation was almost inevitable.

After Tibet took over the border, they didn't even move the place, but immediately slaughtered Xidamou and his men on the spot, leaving no one alive.

This incident marked the complete break between Li Deyu and Niu Sengru.

In Li Deyu's view, Niu Sengru's actions were not only cowardly and incompetent, causing the Tang court to miss a great opportunity to recover Weizhou, but also a case of harming the government due to factional strife, using a major court event to suppress Li Deyu's prestige.

Li Deyu was particularly troubled by the deaths of Xi Damou and others.

After all, the other party risked everything to surrender the city because they trusted him, but he failed to protect their lives and pushed them to their deaths.

After this incident, there was no room for reconciliation between Li Deyu and Niu Sengru.

Li Deyu didn't even bother with pretense. No matter the occasion or who he was in front of, he made no attempt to hide his disgust and contempt for Niu Sengru.

And now you're telling me that Li Deyu actually wants to recommend Niu Sengru as prime minister?

Is this still the Tang Dynasty?

"Minister Wang, Minister Jia, what do you think?"

The two prime ministers were so shocked by the news that they remained speechless for a long time until Li Ang spoke, which brought them back to their senses.

After regaining his composure, Wang Ya remained silent for a moment before speaking first.

"Your Majesty, I believe this is inappropriate. In the previous incident in Weizhou, Niu Sengru, as prime minister, made a serious mistake. Although he is a man of great literary talent and is honest and upright, he lacks a sense of the big picture and is not qualified to serve as prime minister. I beg Your Majesty to make a wise decision."

After saying that, he turned to Li Deyu, his brows furrowed.

"Lord Li, you were the one who strongly advocated for the events in Weizhou back then, and you should be most familiar with the details. Why are you now ignoring this matter and recommending Niu Sengru again?"

His tone was unusually scrutinizing.

Clearly, he did not believe that Li Deyu's recommendation of Niu Sengru at this time, given the precedent of the Victoria incident, would be entirely out of public interest.

Li Ang did not express his opinion, but instead looked at Jia Su beside him and asked, "What does Minister Jia think?"

Compared to the senior Wang Ya, Jia Su appeared more cautious, saying only, "Your Majesty, I believe that it is not advisable to change the prime minister and important officials too frequently."

"These days the court is in turmoil. First there was the Qiu Shiliang incident, and then Li Xun and others were demoted. There is an urgent need for a prudent minister who has been in the capital for a long time to become prime minister. Niu Sengru has been away from the capital for many years. If he returns to the capital to become prime minister, I am afraid he will not be able to quickly become familiar with the affairs of the court."

The words were phrased tactfully, but the underlying attitude was one of opposition.

At this point, Wang Ya went a step further and said, "Your Majesty, Niu Sengru has a reputation for forming factions in the court, which led to his demotion. If he is recalled now, it may cause further turmoil in the court. I urge Your Majesty to reconsider."

This statement is almost an explicit implication.

The factional strife between the Niu and Li factions had dragged on for years. Even when they were in power, they still fought each other. If both Li Deyu and Niu Sengru were recalled to the Central Secretariat at the same time, who knows what kind of infighting would ensue...

However, despite their objections, Li Deyu remained unmoved and bowed.

"Your Majesty, Niu Sengru did make a mistake in the matter of Weizhou back then, but we cannot completely dismiss him because of a momentary lapse. Although he has limited knowledge of military affairs, he has considerable insight into civil administration."

"During the Baoli era, Niu Sengru served as the military governor of Wuchang and the prefect of Ezhou. In six years, he rectified official corruption and built water conservancy projects, achieving remarkable political achievements. It can be seen that he was not entirely without talent. In terms of talent, I think he is still a capable person."

Indeed, people's habits are not so easy to change.

Although Li Deyu recommended Niu Sengru, he couldn't help but reveal a hint of disdain in his words.

But the more this was the case, the more uneasy Wang Ya felt.

If Li Deyu had truly let go of what happened back then, that would be one thing, but the current situation clearly shows that he hasn't.

Under these circumstances, Li Deyu's insistence on recalling Niu Sengru to the capital was likely not only to demonstrate his magnanimity, but also because he had a well-thought-out plan to completely destroy Niu Sengru.

Although Wang Ya couldn't guess what kind of methods would be worth offering a prime minister's position as bait, his years of political experience told him that any method that could achieve such an effect would inevitably cause a major upheaval in the officialdom.

Therefore, he absolutely cannot allow this to happen.

But judging from Li Deyu's attitude, it was clear that he had made up his mind, which made Wang Ya sigh.

After a moment of silence, he knew that continuing the argument would be pointless, so he had no choice but to choose another path.

"Your Majesty, I believe there is another minister who is more suitable to be prime minister than Niu Sengru..."

"Who is it?" Li Ang asked.

"Li Shi, Vice Minister of Revenue!"

Just when everyone thought that Wang Ya was going to recommend some senior and prestigious minister to oppose him.

The name he uttered was merely that of an ordinary vice minister of one of the six ministries.

"Li Shi?"

Li Ang frowned slightly. Seeing this, Wang Ya continued.

"Your Majesty, I believe that the most important thing for the court is the economy. Just now, Minister Li also said that he recommended Niu Sengru because of his outstanding political achievements during his time in Ezhou and his expertise in civil administration. However, I believe that being able to govern a place does not mean being able to govern a country."

"Since entering officialdom, Li Shi has been skilled in economics. In his early years, he followed the late Duke of Liang, Li Ting, in battles across four garrisons, overseeing logistics without ever making a mistake. Later, he entered the Ministry of Revenue to judge salt and iron, where he was able to examine accounts and ensure the collection of taxes over the years. He served in the court for a long time and was known for his competence as an official."

"Back then, when I was in charge of the tea tax reform, Li Shi had many effective suggestions. What's even more commendable is that Li Shi is loyal and upright, acts with integrity, and has never formed any factions. His ancestor was Li Shenfu, the Prince of Xiangyi, who is related to Your Majesty by blood. If he can become prime minister, he will surely do his best to serve the country."

"I urge Your Majesty to carefully consider this matter and appoint Li Shi to the Secretariat to fill the vacancy of Chancellor!"