A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Emperor Yuan Cong

Chapter 1227: Yan Ying's Demotion to the Palace

They say a little goodbye is better than a wedding.

Wu Huaiyu had been away in the Western Regions for nearly two years. This time when he came back, his wives and concubines all surrounded him, looking at him with tears in their eyes.

But in the end, everyone was tactful enough to leave this opportunity to the eldest wife.

Fan Xuanfu naturally took the lead.

This is her right as the mistress of the house, and she will not give it to others even if she is not feeling well today.

The maids in the main house also made preparations early in the day. They filled the house with incense, changed into a full set of new bedding, and prepared hot water in the bathroom.

After Wu Huaiyu saw off his eldest sister and brother-in-law and their family, he also took the initiative to come to Xuanfu Courtyard.

"Well, my lady looks particularly radiant today. Ah, and she smells so good."

Wu Huaiyu hugged his wife with a smile.
"The maids are here." Although they are an old couple, Xuanfu is often blushed by Wu Huaiyu's boldness and unrestrainedness.

"They are all your people, what's the matter?"

"Go take a bath first. There is hot water in the bathtub for you."

Huaiyu hugged his wife and asked, "Why do you smell so good?"

"I just made a warm bath with milk and flowers, used soap, and put some perfume on my clothes, too."

Fan Xuanfu felt a little weak. They had been married for sixteen years, but every time she was hugged by her husband, she still couldn't bear it.

The flames in my heart were surging and my face was getting redder.

"Go wash up now."

"Why don't you wait for me to take a bath together?" Wu Huaiyu said as he patted his wife's plump buttocks. She was indeed a martial artist, a daughter of a general who once killed seven horses with one sword. After sixteen years of marriage, she had given birth to several children, but her figure was still very good.

Compared to before marriage, she is a little plumper and more mature.

"go quickly,"

Fan Xuanfu had long been fooled by Wu Huaiyu and had forgotten about the jealousy of the Queen of Shule.

Huaiyu smiled and went to take a bath.
There is a bathroom in the courtyard with a bathtub. Hot water is prepared in advance. The bathtub is not very big, but it is still very comfortable to take a hot bath in winter.
Wu Huaiyu refused the maid's service, soaked for a while, then rinsed and brushed his teeth, changed clothes and went back to the room.

His wife had changed into comfortable silk pajamas and was waiting for him on the couch.
The hibiscus tent is warm, the fragrance is warm and the flowers are soft.

As soon as Jinfeng Yulu met, they won but countless on earth.

The silence speaks.

"I want to have another child."

After a long time, Wu Huaiyu leaned on the couch, panting, and Xuan Fu snuggled in his arms and said very gently.

Wu Huaiyu had used all his tricks to subdue the white tigress just now.

After three rounds of fighting, she was exhausted and out of breath, but she became more and more tender. It is true that only an ox that dies of exhaustion can do nothing but damage the land.

They were both in their thirties, and he was already losing to his wife.

"Giving birth and raising children is very hard. You've already given birth to so many, why would you give birth again?"

"I'm only in my thirties, still young. Many people have to wait until they are fifty to have children. I can't say I can have ten or eight children, but I should be able to have six or seven."

Xuan Fu suddenly raised her head and looked at her husband, "You don't think I'm too old, do you?"

"You are only in your thirties, which is the time when flowers are in full bloom. You are full of mature charm and charming charisma, elegant and dignified, and you are extremely beautiful." Wu Huaiyu hurriedly coaxed.

Xuan Fu wiped away the fine beads of sweat for Wu Huaiyu.

Only then did the couple finally have time to chat about the two years since they had separated. Although they often exchanged letters, they were thousands of miles apart and it was not convenient to communicate through letters.

"Recently, people in Chang'an have been talking about you. I hope it won't have a bad influence on you?"

"It's nothing."

"I heard that many people are impeaching you."

"Well, that's not a bad thing,"

"When you return to Beijing this time, will you leave again?"

"Maybe I'll stay in Chang'an for a while, but I'll probably just sit around."

Xuan Fu smiled and said, "You have been running around all these years, it would be great if you could finally relax in Beijing. It just so happens that the boys and girls in our family will all get married next year, and you, as a father, can't be absent."

After two years of separation, there was so much to talk about that Wu Huaiyu didn't know how late he went to bed.

When I opened my eyes, it was already bright.

While he was washing up, Jian Yi came to report that someone from the palace had come to convey an imperial decree, summoning him to the palace for a discussion.

Wu Huaiyu quickly washed and changed his clothes.

He didn't even have time to eat breakfast and hurried into the palace.

The emperor held court meetings with his ministers in the newly built Purple Palace in the Daming Palace today.

Wu Huaiyu accompanied the emperor here yesterday. It is the third largest hall in the Daming Palace and the inner court hall. Its status is second only to the outer court main hall Hanyuan Hall and the regular court Xuanzheng Hall to its south.

The status of the Purple Palace in the Daming Palace is the same as that of the Ganlu Palace in the Taiji Palace.

This is not only the emperor's bedroom where he lives and holds meetings, but also the place where the court holds meetings. The front hall of the palace is used for daily office work, while the back room is used for rest.

The Xuanzheng Hall in front is the main government office, with the emperor's guard of honor, while the Zichen Hall is a side hall, without guard of honor.

When Wu Huaiyu arrived at the Daming Palace, he first went to the Xuanzheng Hall and then entered through the pavilion gate.

Inside the Zichen Gate,

The eunuch Zhang Ananda was waiting for him there.

"Your Majesty is in Yanying Palace, and Prime Minister Wu is accompanying us."

Wu Huaiyu looked at the skinny old man. Sixteen years ago when Wu Huaiyu was still a teenager, he looked just as skinny. Sixteen years later, he still looked the same.

"Zhang Jian is eighty years old this year, right?"

"Well, he's just too old to die." Zhang Ananda said with a smile. This eunuch was really long-lived. He was eighty years old, but he looked like he was in his fifties. Although he looked skinny, his steps were still steady and his eyes were bright.

During the Zhenguan period, due to opposition from ministers, the emperor rescinded the high-ranking and generous titles originally awarded to the court attendants. The official positions of those favored attendants such as musicians and bow makers did not exceed the fifth rank, and none of them were granted titles. Only Zhang Ananda was not only not rescinded from his county duke title, but was promoted to county duke, and his original rank was also raised to the third rank.

"When Supervisor Zhang celebrates his birthday, I will definitely come to your house to ask for a couple of glasses of wine."

Have a little chat,

Zhang Ananda took Wu Huaiyu to the Yanying Hall west of the Zichen Hall.
This is equivalent to the emperor's imperial study. Next to it is the Elephant Hall, and to the east are the Bathing Hall and Greenhouse Hall.

After the new year, the emperor will officially move to Daming Palace.
Now I come here in advance to adapt.

The emperor lived in the Purple Palace and would handle daily affairs in the Tingying Palace. When he was here, ministers could submit a petition to report matters.
As the prime ministers of the Council of State Affairs, who were the heads of all officials, if they wanted to report their work to the emperor, they also had to have a certificate, that is, apply in the form of a memorial.

When the emperor wanted to arrange matters for the prime minister, he would usually summon the prime minister.

For some important matters, relevant ministers were summoned to the court for discussion.

Also known as Yanying Zoudui.

Wu Huaiyu immediately understood this new way of doing things. Isn't this a way for the emperor to further weaken the power of the prime minister and strengthen the imperial power?

Just like in the past, the prime minister was the head of the three ministries, headed by the Shangshu Ling, who discussed matters in the capital. Later, the emperor left the Shangshu Ling position vacant and made the left and right Pushe the actual heads of the Shangshu Province.

But later, the left and right chancellors were put in charge of the daily affairs of the Secretariat, each in charge of three ministries, which further weakened the power of the head of the Secretariat.

Later, the capital province was changed to the Menxia Province, called the Zhengshi Hall, and even the scope of the prime minister was expanded. It was not the heads of the three provinces. As long as the emperor felt it was necessary, the Zhongshu Shilang, Huangmen Shilang, Yushi Dafu, Libu Shangshu, Bingbu Shangshu, etc. could also enter the Zhengtang with the title of Canyu Zhengshi.

Later, the emperor could grant even officials who were not even of the third rank to the third rank of the Secretariat, or the title of Canyouzhengshi, and allow them to enter the Zhengshi Hall as prime ministers.

This led to the emperor's continuous weakening of the power of the prime minister and the continuous strengthening of his control over the Council of State.

And now, the Yanying system has come up again. If the prime minister wants to see the emperor to report on matters, he has to apply for it, and it is even stipulated that he is not allowed to stay alone to make reports.

You can tell,

The emperor has been on the throne for more than ten years, and his behavior has changed a bit. He cares more about the stability of imperial power and the stability of the power of his ministers.

The current system of group prime ministers can indeed effectively prevent the emergence of powerful officials.

Even though Fang Xuanling had been prime minister for more than ten years, Fang Xuanling, as the Left Pushe, could not even fully control the Shangshu Province. Not only was the Right Pushe responsible for sharing power, but there were also the Left and Right Chancellors in charge of daily affairs within the province. The Left Pushe was more involved in discussing state affairs in the Council of State, and his management power over the Shangshu Province was much weaker.

Today, in addition to the prime ministers in the government hall, there were also many ministers. When Wu Huaiyu came in, he saw many familiar faces.
Even Cheng Yaojin, Fan Xing and Qiu Xinggong were there. Among these three people, one was the General of the Left Yulin Army, one was the General of the Right Longwu Army, and the other was the General of the Left Tunwei Army. They were respectively assigned to the North and South Yamen.

Generally speaking, although the generals of the twelve guards and four prefectures of the Southern Court and the four armies of the Northern Court hold high positions and important titles, they usually do not participate in making reports.

The fact that they were all able to come shows that this court meeting is very important.

This is an expanded meeting.

Sure enough, he also saw the Minister of Rites Xu Jingzong, and even his two relatives, Vice Ministers of War Lu Chengqing and Cui Dunli, were there.

The leaders of the three provinces and six ministries, the nine temples, five prisons, one agency, twelve guards, four prefectures, and four armies all came, and even many assistant ministers and junior eunuchs came.

Wu Huaiyu entered the hall and someone called his name at the door.

Wu Huaiyu had the privilege of being praised without being named and entering the court without bowing.

So the officials only addressed him by his title. "The Minister of the Court, the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, the Minister of State, the Minister of the State, the Minister of the Zhenguan Period, the Duke of Song, who is actually granted two thousand households, come to the palace to see you!"

Countless eyes in the hall were looking at Wu Huaiyu.

This is a legend.

Sixteen years ago, he was just a Taoist priest who had just come down from the mountains. He was the son of a junior military officer in the imperial army and started out as a money collector in Sanyuan County.
With such a humble origin, he has now become the object of admiration of countless people.
After the worship,

Li Shimin sat on the throne and said, "I summoned all the ministers here today because there are some important matters to discuss."

"Yesterday, Youzhou reported that Youzhou Governor and Duke of Tan, Qiu He, died of illness while in office."

In fact, almost all the ministers in the palace knew about this news.

Qiu Xingze's eldest son, Qiu Yingqi, the governor of Qingzhou, had already set out to Youzhou to carry the coffin back home.
"Qiu Xingze was a founding hero. In the first year of Yining, the righteous army was about to rise. Princess Pingyang Zhao recruited soldiers to respond to Emperor Gaozu. Qiu Xingze led thousands of people to join me, along with his brothers, nephews, and nephews. After that, he followed me to fight in all directions, made many military achievements, and was appointed governor of Jizhou, governor of Jiaozhi, and governor of Youzhou..."

When the emperor mentioned Qiu Xingze, he was deeply saddened by the passing of another founding hero, loyal minister and general.

Li Shimin personally drafted the posthumous title and honorific for this meritorious official who died of illness at the age of 63 in the palace.

"Give him the title of Grand Commander of Jingzhou and posthumously honor him as Duke Xiang."

"A special decree ordered his eldest son, Qingzhou Governor Qiu Yingqi Busu, to inherit the title of Duke of Tan State; his second son, Youwei Gaoling Zhechongfu Guoyi Duwei Qiu Shenyan, to inherit the title of Duke of Meicheng County; his eldest grandson to inherit the title of Viscount of Linji County..."

Li Shimin gave Qiu Xingze generous honors after his death. Not only did he allow his eldest son to inherit the title of Duke of Tan without being demoted, he also allowed his second son and eldest grandson to inherit a title. He also rewarded him with money and ordered officials to arrange his funeral.

Qiu Xinggong knelt in the hall, but his face was expressionless. Everyone knew that they were not on good terms. They had quarreled over the burial of their mother, and the whole of Chang'an knew about it. Qiu Xingze died, but Qiu Xinggong, his half brother, was not sad at all.

"Youzhou is an important city, and it must be under the command of a governor."

The emperor mentioned the issue of the successor to the governor of Youzhou.
Gao Shilian stepped forward and said, "I recommend Cheng Mingzhen, the governor of Yingzhou and the protector of Andong. He is originally from Hebei, familiar with Youzhou, and is both civil and military. He has served as governor and governor of several places. He has outstanding political achievements and good performance, and he is loyal and devoted. He can be appointed governor of Youzhou."

"What do you think, Minister Yang?" Li Shimin asked the Minister of Personnel Yang Shidao.

"I support what Prime Minister Gao said."

"Xuanling?" The emperor asked Zuo Pushe Fang Xuanling again, and he also agreed.

Wu Huaiyu knelt in the hall, feeling that this matter was a little unusual. The vacancy of such an important candidate for the governor of Youzhou would definitely be fought over by all parties.
But now, from Gao Shilian to Fang Xuanling to Yang Shizhong, and even prime ministers such as Wei Zheng, Liu Li, and Cen Wenben, all agreed.
It seems very strange.

Unless the emperor has already discussed it with them and reached a consensus, or if they say that this is the emperor's intention and everyone supports it.

"Huaiyu, you have served as the governor of Youzhou, and you have dealt with Cheng Mingzhen before, right? Do you think Cheng Mingzhen is suitable for the position of governor of Youzhou?"

After Wu Huaiyu had a detailed chat with his brother-in-law yesterday, he was mentally prepared to sit on the bench in Chang'an for a few years, so he didn't want to recommend himself for the position of Governor of Youzhou anymore.

"I think Cheng Mingzhen is capable and loyal enough to take on this position."

"Okay, then Cheng Mingzhen will take over the post of governor and governor of Youzhou."

"Who should be chosen to replace the positions of Governor of Yingzhou and Protector of Andong?" asked the emperor.

At this time, Imperial Censor Zhang Liang stood up.

"Your Majesty, I have something important to report!"

"explain."

"The Censorate has recently received a large number of impeachments against Prime Minister Wu. As the Chief Censor..."

Prime Minister Zhang Liang suddenly attacked Wu Huaiyu, which was beyond the expectations of many people, even Wu Huaiyu himself.
He looked at Zhang Liang. This guy had a righteous look on his face, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, and looked honest. But Wu Huaiyu felt that this matter was even more strange.

He had dealt with Zhang Liang for many years. A long time ago, he had even worked as Zhang Liang's subordinate for a period of time, but Wu Huaiyu had long since surpassed him. They had also had some conflicts, but Zhang Liang was also submissive and honest under Wu Huaiyu's control.

What does he want to do now?
Zhang Liang took the lead and produced a large number of crimes and evidences used by the Censorate to impeach Wu Huaiyu.
Then Yang Shidao, the Minister of Personnel, followed up and said that an investigation should be conducted.

The Prime Minister, the Secretary of the Central Secretariat Cen Benwen, and the Imperial Household Secretary Liu Ji also followed up and said that a thorough investigation must be conducted.

The wind direction in the palace changed sharply.

One by one,

Many things that happened during Wu Huaiyu's Western Expedition were brought to light, such as his poor military management, allowing his soldiers to plunder, dividing up property among himself, sending out troops without authorization, accepting bribes, abusing his power for personal gain, appointing personal connections, and even having an affair with the Queen of Shule.

Some people even brought up some of Wu Huaiyu's past deeds.
Among the impeachments produced by the Censorate, some even said that Wu Huaiyu had evil intentions and was planning rebellion.

In short, it's coming with great force.

Wu Huaiyu knelt there, his mind racing, but he did not panic and remained calm because he believed that the emperor was unlikely to deal with him directly at this time.

Maybe it's the same tactic used against Li Jing.

After a great achievement, the emperor would first point out minor mistakes, punish them, and then reward them. This would not only lower the reward, but also serve as a warning to the meritorious officials so that they would not become arrogant.

The palace became lively.

The emperor stood up and asked Wu Huaiyu condescendingly,
"Do you have any explanation for the crimes that the Censorate has impeached you for?"

Wu Huaiyu bowed his head and apologized.

"Some people say that I am plotting a rebellion. That is slander and false accusation. I will never admit it. When I met Your Majesty, I was just a clerk who collected money. Your Majesty appreciated and promoted me. Your Majesty has also trusted me over the years. I am deeply grateful and will serve you until my death. How could I have the heart to be disloyal?"

"Some people have accused me of being incompetent in managing the army and failing to discipline my subordinates. Some even accused me of using troops without authorization, being overbearing and authoritarian, and accepting bribes.

I would never admit it either. I am commanding troops outside, thousands of miles away. How can I ask the court for help on every matter? The opportunity for war is fleeting. Since I have been entrusted with the commander-in-chief by Your Majesty, I must be able to make my own decisions.

As for rewarding soldiers with property, I don't think it's wrong. Soldiers fought outside, risking their lives, conquering cities and lands, and seizing some money and livestock. What's wrong with giving some of it to soldiers as rewards?"

Wu Huaiyu was very emotional in the palace and denied any of the crimes against him.

Even when someone attacked him for plundering Qiuci and having an affair with the queen of Qiuci, he refused to admit it. He even more denied his affair with the princess of Shule.

It's not that Wu Huaiyu thinks these things can't be found without evidence.

He was just cooperating with the emperor in performing.

Many things were wrong in the first place and could be verified. Even the emperor must have already obtained the evidence, but he still had to deny it, just to make the emperor throw out the evidence and give the emperor a reason to take further action.

really,

After Wu Huaiyu refused to admit it,

Imperial Censor Zhang Liang presented a lot of evidence of Wu Huaiyu's crimes in the palace.

An Lushan looted Qiuci and had an affair with the queen, Wu Huaiyu had an affair with the princess of Shule and privately divided a large amount of money among the soldiers. There were also many post-war looting activities by the Anxi Army and its vassal armies such as the Turks. The Wu family also bought a lot of land in the Western Regions, did a lot of business with the army, and made a lot of money.

Wu Huaiyu even made extensive use of his adopted sons, students, old subordinates, relatives and friends, and placed them in important positions in Anxi.

When all these are laid out one by one,

Wu Huaiyu no longer refuted.

Li Shimin stood there with a look of disappointment on his face.

"Huaiyu, you led the army to the west and made great contributions. After that, you served as the Protector General of the Western Regions and made many meritorious deeds. I have recorded all these achievements for you, but you can't be arrogant and do whatever you want. You made many mistakes in the Western Regions. Now the evidence is here, why do you still deny it?"

At this point, Li Shimin turned to ask Liu Dewei, the Minister of Justice, Li Daozon, the Minister of Punishment, and Zhang Liang, the Imperial Censor.
"How should the law deal with the things Huaiyu has done?"

Liu Dewei said he should be stripped of his official title and dismissed from his post, while Li Daozong said he should be removed from office.
Zhang Liang said that according to the law he should be put to death, but Wu Huaiyu had made great contributions and was also a prime minister, so his sentence could be reduced through eight discussions and he should be dismissed from his post and title and allowed to return home to reflect on his actions.

As soon as the three judges came out with this opinion,
In the hall, Fang Xuanling, Gao Shilian, Wei Zheng, Ma Zhou and others stood up to speak for Wu Huaiyu, believing that his crime did not warrant such punishment.

The emperor stood there,
After a long silence, he slowly said, "In the previous dynasty, General Shi Wansui defeated Datou Khan, but the Sui Dynasty only remembered his faults and did not reward his merits. Later, they unjustly killed Shi Wansui, which caused the people of the country to be divided and thus eventually perished.

I can't do this.
No one can erase your merits, but you have indeed made many mistakes. You should be rewarded for your merits and punished for your mistakes. I reward you with 500 households in addition to the previous 2,500 households, and add the title of Prince Taifu, while the rest of your honors and titles remain the same.

But your mistakes will also be punished,

I will remove your title of Prime Minister and demote you to the post of Governor of Yingzhou and Protector of Andong. You will be sent to take up your post immediately!"

This result came out,

Another thing no one expected.

Is the punishment severe?

It was a heavy responsibility, after all, he was a high-ranking official and prime minister, and he had made such great contributions, but when he came back, he was dismissed and demoted to Liaoxi.

However, considering the charges made by the Censorate and Wu Huaiyu's refusal to admit them, if we really want to be serious, it would be enough to punish him by death.

Now, apart from being dismissed from his post as prime minister and demoted, he still retained the titles of Minister of the Interior and Duke of Song, and was even given the title of Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince, as well as a fief of 500 households. This was not a sinecure like Sima, but the governor of Yingzhou and the protector of Andong.
It can be said that he still showed some mercy.

"I thank your majesty for your mercy,"

Wu Huaiyu bowed his head in thanks, but he was a little confused. The emperor made such a big fuss just to demote him to Liaoxi?

Then why didn't the emperor agree to his request yesterday to be sent to Liaodong as governor? Why was it unnecessary?
Is it just to punish himself, or to make the emperor's treatment legal, reasonable and appropriate, and not appear harsh and ungrateful?
You must start your journey immediately, that is, today, and you must travel at least ten post stations a day.

It's quite ruthless.

However, Wu Huaiyu accepted it calmly.

Yesterday I requested to be the governor of Liaodong. After talking with my brother-in-law Ma Zhou in the evening, I felt that the emperor might want him to be the right servant and sit idle in Chang'an for a few years.

Now this result,

It’s not that bad. As long as he is not beheaded, demoted or dismissed, it is not a bad thing for him now. It can even be considered a good thing, which means he has passed the test.

Hey,
But it's impossible to say that I don't feel disappointed in my heart.

Li Shimin was a good emperor and did everything right, but he was definitely not a good person.

(End of this chapter)