A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Emperor Yuan Cong

Chapter 1322: Immediate Execution
Xuanyangfang.

Taiwei Mansion,
When Pei Xingjian came to visit, he brought two bottles of Gaochang wine.

"I know that most of the wine in Chang'an now belongs to the teacher's family, but these two bottles of wine were brewed by me when I was the chief historian in Gaochang. I have kept them for ten years."

Wu Huaiyu smiled and welcomed Pei Xingjian into the living room.

The two were very close, and both of them took Qin Qiong as their adoptive father, so they were actually sworn brothers. But later, Pei Xingjian took Wu Huaiyu as his teacher and studied with him for several years. Later, they became in-laws.

However, in front of Wu Huaiyu, Pei Xingjian always regarded himself as a student.

"Then try the homemade wine you've been brewing for the past ten years," Huaiyu suggested with a smile, opening a bottle and drinking while playing chess.

In the past, Gaochang wine was a rare commodity. It was brought to Chang'an by Sogdian merchants along the Silk Road. It was very rare and expensive.

But later, Wu Huaiyu began to plant Gaochang mare's milk grapes in the capital region and brew his own wine. At first, it was still called Gaochang wine, but now, Wu's wine is directly called red wine, or Wugong grape red wine, and its brand and reputation are far superior to Gaochang wine.

Not to mention market share.

Because of the improvement of brewing technology, the quality and taste are also better.

Just like Gaochang's white cloth, which was sold at a higher price than silk, but now with the Wu family's large-scale cotton planting and the comprehensive innovation of cotton spinning processing technology, the prices of cotton, cotton yarn and cotton cloth have all plummeted. Gaochang's white cloth has been completely defeated by Wu's cotton cloth. Now, the large amount of cotton grown in the Western Regions has basically been bought up by the Wu family's textile factory.

The Wu family, in turn, set up several places in Gaochang, and launched the old brands of Gaochang Baidi Cloth and Gaochang Wine, producing small boutique products, which were quite prosperous.

It has been almost ten years since Pei Xingjian left the Western Regions.
However, there are still many old subordinates there who are very familiar with these situations. He admires the Wu family's management from the bottom of his heart.

The Wu family is as rich as a country, but they don't rely on robbing or connections.
The sugar, tea, cotton cloth, white and red wine, and even spices and shipbuilding they dealt in were all technologically innovative, and their business models were also more advanced. Appropriate partnerships and distribution models made the industries run by the Wu family extremely powerful and far ahead of others.

For example, Gaochang cotton, originally called Baidiehua, had backward processing technology and limited production capacity. The woven Baidie cloth was more expensive than silk, and cotton was only used as an ornamental flower in the palace and gardens of the nobles in the Central Plains.

However, Wu Huaiyu's promotion of cotton planting and improvement of cotton spinning processing technology over the past two decades has made cotton available to thousands of households, especially in the northern Saibei and Liaodong regions, bringing enough warmth to the cold winter in those border areas, and providing increased security for the stationed soldiers and the immigrants who settled there.

Even people in the Central Plains can have a warm cotton jacket to keep out the wind and cold in winter.

This cotton has brought so many benefits to the country and the people, no less than the auspicious crops such as corn and potatoes brought by Wu Huaiyu.

The red wine is ready.

The two toasted and drank together.

Tastes good,

But Pei Xingjian's brewing skills were just above average. He didn't have the skills of Wei Zheng in this respect. In fact, this wine was not as good as the red wine brewed in large quantities by the Wu family.

The craftsmanship is far behind.

But this is home-brewed after all, and it’s a special token of appreciation compared to the ones you buy.

Many people like to make their own wine, but in fact, if they don’t have the talent and skills, not only will they not be able to make good wine, they may even easily make poisonous wine, which can cause dizziness and headaches at the mildest, and vomiting and poisoning at the worst.

This is a technical job.

The chessboard is set.

Each holds his own opinion.

Pei Xingjian is the same age as the current emperor, and is also thirty-three this year. They both used to study under Wu Huaiyu, and they are brothers in the same school, and they have a good relationship.

However, Pei Xingjian's chess playing style was completely different from that of the emperor.

The emperor plays chess in a relatively stable manner, or rather, he does not have a strong desire to attack.

Pei Xingjian did subtraction, trying to simplify the chess game as much as possible, sacrificing pieces to attack and killing, and exchanging pieces crazily with great decisiveness.

in contrast,

Wu Huaiyu played chess like an old man, even though he was only ten years older than Pei Xingjian and only forty-three this year.

Although he had an absolute advantage in the chess game and was under great pressure, he remained as steady as an old dog. He thought for a long time before making each move and continued to advance step by step.

Pei Xingjian took the initiative to exchange pieces, and Wu Huaiyu did not make any exchange. He was calm when the wind was favorable and not panicky when the wind was unfavorable.

Although Pei Xingjian is now the Secretary of the Central Secretariat and the Judge of the Five Flowers in the court, this is a powerful fifth-rank position that is respected as the Prime Minister.

However, as a civil official who was a Jinshi, he served as a military officer in the Twelve Guards when he first entered the government, and then studied military tactics under Su Dingfang. He followed Su Dingfang in the Yaozhou Military Governor's Office in the South for many years, and then went to Gaochang in the Western Regions.
This was a Confucian general who once rode a horse and wielded a sword, slaughtering the unruly and rebellious barbarians in Yunnan.

His chess moves were not simply random killing and hacking, but he still could not break through Wu Huaiyu's step-by-step strategy.

"Chu Suiliang and Zhang Ruice have already left for their posts."

Chu Suiliang went to Gaochang and Zhang Ruice went to Xunzhou, one was in the Western Regions and the other in Lingnan.

Originally, Chu Suiliang wanted to kick Pei Xingjian to Gaochang in the Western Regions, but unexpectedly, he was dismissed from his post and demoted to Gaochang.

Pei Xingjian looked at the chessboard, gave up the chess piece with a wry smile and admitted defeat.

“The teacher is getting better and better.”

It can be said that Chu Suiliang's demotion caused an earthquake in the court. The whole Chang'an was somewhat shocked. Who could have thought that before Emperor Taizong was even buried, Chu Suiliang, who was known as the elder statesman of state, was actually dismissed from his position as prime minister and demoted.

Outsiders watch the fun,
The issue of Chu Suiliang forcing his subordinates to buy their land is still being hotly discussed. Many people are also arguing about whether Xue Jiulang bought the land at a lower price because he was really greedy or just trying to make Chu take the blame.

Few people in the community mention Wu Huaiyu.
Most people would not have thought that General Wu, who had just returned to Beijing and was resting, would have any connection with this case.

But Pei Xingjian was an insider in the situation. He knew clearly the ins and outs of the whole matter. He knew how his teacher turned the tide at the critical moment when he was about to be demoted, not only saving him but also kicking Chu Suiliang out.

Just like the chess game just now,
The teacher did not exchange the money.
"I heard that Uncle Changsun has said that he will help Chu Suiliang return to the court within three months."

Wu Huaiyu just laughed when he heard this.

Zhang Sun Wuji was qualified to say this, but he shouldn't have said it. Even though he was the Minister of Education, the Minister of the Court, and the uncle of the emperor, he was not the emperor.

The current emperor is thirty-three years old and has been the crown prince for twenty-five years. He is not just thirteen years old.

His bold words, when heard by the emperor, only made him more dissatisfied with him.

"After this incident, the Dali Temple needs a major personnel change. The former Dali Qing is almost old, so this time he will retire and go home.
You have been the Secretary of the Central Secretariat for four years. Why don't you take this opportunity to step down and become the Junior Secretary of the Dali Temple?"

Pei Xingjian was stunned.

It has been almost ten years since he returned from the Western Regions. He served as the magistrate of Chang'an for five years and as the secretary of the Secretariat for more than four years. Naturally, he wanted to make further progress.

The fifth rank official is an important threshold.

The fifth rank and above are appointed by the prime minister, and the fifth rank and below are appointed by the Ministry of Personnel.
The Zhongshu Sheren was a fifth-rank honest official, and generally had to serve as a sixth-rank honest official first. Except for the officials of the Eastern Palace, the sixth-rank honest officials generally included the Yuanwailang of various departments, the Shiyushi, the Jiujiulan, the Taixue Doctor, the Guozi Assistant, the Mishulang and the Zuozuolang.

Pei Xingjian took a different path at the beginning. He first served in a local prefecture, and was eventually promoted to the Chief Clerk of Xizhou, and then transferred to the magistrate of Chang'an County.

This crucial step of becoming the fifth-rank Chang'an Order was also arranged with the help of Wu Huaiyu.

However, he performed outstandingly during his five years in office and received unanimous praise, which enabled him to be transferred to the important position of Zhongshu Sheren, known as the prime minister in reserve.

"I have little experience," Pei Xingjian sighed.

"His Majesty thinks highly of you, so there is no need to underestimate yourself." Wu Huaiyu cleaned up the mess and started a new game.

There are very strict rules for the transfer of court officials.

For example, if one wants to move in a fifth-rank official, he must first be a sixth-rank official.

For example, only a very small number of Yuanwailang from the sixth rank can be directly promoted to Langzhong from the fifth rank. Most of them are Yuanwailang from the later rank to Yuanwailang from the former rank, and a small number of them are transferred out to become Zhongshu Sheren, Jieshizhong, Jianyi Dafu, etc. Most of the Langzhong from the fifth rank are also first Langzhong and then transferred to the former Langzhong, or transferred out to Zhongshu Sheren, Jieshizhong, etc., who are also of the fifth rank.
A small number of them were able to be promoted to the fourth-rank official of temple supervisors.

As for important posts like Zhongshu Sheren, very few people can be promoted directly to Zhongshu Shilang. Most of them have to wait for their seniority in the fifth rank.
It is extremely rare to be able to be promoted directly by one level and become a fourth-rank Shaoqing in the temple.

Without real skills or a strong backer, you may have to work in various positions of the same level for more than ten years.
Pei Xingjian is still young, capable and motivated, and has connections.
"You can become the Junior Minister of Dali and partner with Tang Lin. If you do a good job in your term, you will have the opportunity to become the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice or the Ministry of Personnel. You may even be able to directly become the Vice Minister of the Secretariat or the Vice Minister of the Imperial Household."

"If you want to send him out to be a provincial governor to gain experience, that's fine too."

"In ten years, you will be qualified to enter the Political Affairs Hall."

If someone else said this, they would probably just be ridiculed, but Pei Xingjian believed what Wu Huaiyu said to him completely.

"Is Tang Lin the new Dali Temple Minister?"

"Um,"

Tang Lin was very talented, but his uncle had a bad reputation. His uncle, Tang Lingze, was a famous scholar and musician in the Sui Dynasty. He served as the Prince's Left Assistant and was favored by the Crown Prince Yang Yong for his talent.
But later, Crown Prince Yang Yong was deposed, and Tang Lingze was convicted and executed for flattering and pleasing the crown prince.

At the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, when the crown prince Jiancheng was on an expedition to the east, he presented the strategy of pacifying Wang Shichong and was selected by Jiancheng to serve in the East Palace. After the Zhenguan period, he was sent to Wanquan County as the magistrate. At that time, he did something that alarmed the emperor.

Wanquan County held more than a dozen prisoners with minor crimes. It happened that timely rain fell in the late spring when the drought had lasted for a long time. Tang Lin reported to the county magistrate to release these prisoners and return home to farm. Of course, the county magistrate would not agree to such an unreasonable request. As a result, Tang Lin said that he would be fully responsible if anything happened.
The county magistrate simply claimed to be ill and asked Tang Lin to replace him. Tang Lin did his best and sent all the prisoners home to till the crops, and agreed with them that they could come back to continue serving their sentences after they finished planting.

Afterwards, all the prisoners returned. When the news reached the court, Li Shimin was amazed. He promoted Tang Lin to the position of Censor, and his name became known throughout the world.

He served as an imperial censor and was sent abroad as an envoy to impeach members of the royal family, Li Daoyan, the governor of Jiaozhou, and others, and redressed the injustice of more than 3,000 people.

Now Tang Lin is the Inspector General of the Ministry of Personnel, which is also an important position.

Because of his previous performance in the judicial world, Wu Huaiyu asked Zhang Xingcheng and Xu Jingzong to recommend Tang Lin as the Chief Justice of Dali Temple. This was also in line with the emperor's wishes. Wu Huaiyu's arrangement also had deep meaning. He must place his own people in the three judicial departments.

Taking this opportunity, Tang Lin and Pei Xingjian were arranged as the Minister and Shaoqing of the Dali Temple. The next step was for Tang Lin to be promoted to the Chief Censor.

Wu Huaiyu's abstention from party struggles does not mean that he is afraid of them.

Changsun Wuji is arrogant and domineering and wants to start a war, so there is no need to be afraid or hide.

"In fact, if you want to gain a foothold in the court, you must first do two things well: make more friends and fewer enemies."

This is actually a party struggle. First you have to form a party, try to win over allies, then attack your opponents, and find ways to divide the enemy.

Therefore, in all dynasties, the central government is actually full of cliques and factions. It is not uncommon at all. If you don't do this, you will not be able to stand firm.

As long as the power of the ministers' cliques is not too great, no one faction dominates the situation, and a balance can be achieved, the emperor will generally acquiesce.

An excellent party leader, in addition to winning more friends and reducing the number of enemies, must also hold real power and be able to get things done, otherwise he will be nothing more than a politician who is scheming and working hard.

"We must do these two things well: forming alliances and fighting. We must also distinguish who is the enemy and who is the friend, and which enemies can be won over as friends."

The alliance is not only about attracting like-minded people, but also about uniting some enemies with common interests, or temporarily uniting them.

Even deception.

Those politicians really like to use deception. Whether it is making big promises or lying, the purpose is essentially the same.

In the past, Wu Huaiyu and Zhangsun Wuji formed an alliance and their cooperation was pretty good. The two core and semi-marginal people clung to each other for warmth and had been through thick and thin together for more than 20 years.
Now that Changsun Wuji has gained power, he wants to monopolize power and kick Wu Huaiyu out. He has taken the initiative to become his enemy. Of course, Wu Huaiyu is not afraid.

It seems that Zhangsun Wuji's Guanlong faction is the only one in power now, but in fact he has also made a big mistake.
No emperor wants to see his ministers monopolizing power, let alone this clique dominating the country.

The reason why Chu Suiliang was kicked out of the court so quickly this time was not only because he had a bad impression on the emperor, but more importantly, it was because he targeted Changsun Guojiu's Guanlong Group.

Wu Huaiyu sat at home and asked his sons to deliver a few oral messages and small notes. Not only did he save Pei Xingjian, he also successfully crippled one of his eldest grandson's arms, and also took away a Dali Temple official and a Shaoqing.
This means going with the flow and not going against the trend.

Wu Huaiyu really wanted to persuade Changsun Wuji not to jump so high. The higher he jumped, the harder he would fall. It wasn't that he had good intentions, but if Changsun Wuji and his Guanlong faction really completely overthrew, then Wu Huaiyu's new noble faction would emerge.
This is not a good thing. It is better to have someone to take the lead. Of course, the premise is that it cannot be too threatening. So when it is time to do it, you still have to hit Changsun Wuji a few times, otherwise he really doesn't know which direction is east, south, west or north.

The second game,
Pei Xingjian immediately changed his chess style and no longer used his previous aggressive approach. He began to learn from Wu Huaiyu. Although he was ultimately defeated, he felt that he had gained a lot.

After collecting the chess pieces, Wu Huaiyu smiled and said to him, "The Secretary of the Central Secretariat, Cui Renshi, was born in the Cui family of Boling. He was strongly supported by the Prime Minister of Wude, Chen Shuda. However, he had a bad relationship with Chu Suiliang, and Chu Suiliang was jealous of him. The two of them fought fiercely in private. Chu Suiliang collected a lot of information about Cui Renshi."

Now Wu Huaiyu has a copy of this material in his hand.

Wu Huaiyu took the secret material and handed it to Pei Xingjian, "You know what to do, right?"

He quickly read through the materials and found a lot of real stuff. If he presented it to the emperor, Cui Renshi would probably not be able to keep his position as prime minister.

He put away the materials and nodded to Wu Huaiyu, "I know what to do."

When he takes office as the Shaoqing of the Dali Temple, he can then meet Cui Renshi and reveal Chu Suiliang's information. Cui Renshi can either cooperate or suffer the same fate as Chu Suiliang.
Regardless of whether Cui He cooperates or not, Wu Huaiyu and his men will not lose out. If Cui Renshi cooperates, they can win over a prime minister, weaken the Guanlong faction, and even allow Cui Renshi to continue to be an undercover agent. If Cui Renshi does not cooperate, then they can use this material to bring him down and exile him to the wilderness.

Pei Xingjian held the materials without any psychological burden. He had gone through a bloody journey, and he was not afraid of struggle, nor would he be weak.

"Teacher, is there any way to overthrow that dog slave, the Imperial Censor Cui Yixuan?" He felt so angry when he thought about how he had treated Cui Yixuan, the relative of his teacher Su Dingfang, as his own, but Cui Yixuan turned around and sold him out.

He also knew that the court was full of intrigue and scheming, but no one would feel good if they were plotted against.

Cui Yixuan was born in the Southern Branch of the Qinghe Cui Clan. At the end of the Sui Dynasty, he took the initiative to join Li Mi, but was not reused. Later, he joined the Tang Dynasty. Like Wei Zheng, although he once joined Wagang, he was neither Li Mi's confidant nor from the faction of Li Ji, Huang Junhan, Guo Xiaoke, nor from the faction of Qin Qiong, Cheng Yaojin, Niu Jinda, Wu Heita, and Li Junxian.
However, according to the secret information Wu Huaiyu has, Cui Yixuan now has a good relationship with Li Ji in secret, and it is obvious that the two have formed an alliance.

Pei Xingjian only played two games of chess and then went back.
When he came, he brought two bottles of homemade wine. When he left, Wu Huaiyu also gave him two boxes of Luzon tea and a set of porcelain tea sets produced in Luzon. They were not as exquisite as those produced by the major kilns in the Central Plains, but as porcelain for foreign trade, they were cheaper.

The next day,

The emperor had an edict that was delivered to the Council of State Affairs. The former Grand Justice had retired due to old age, and the Junior Justice had been punished and demoted. The Dali Temple had to be presided over by no one, so the emperor personally selected Tang Lin, the Inspector of the Ministry of Personnel, as Grand Justice, and moved Pei Xingjian, the Secretary of the Central Secretariat, as Junior Justice.

The Junior Secretary Shangguan Yi was appointed as the Minister of the Secretariat, and the Prince's Sheren Xu Yushi was appointed as the Sheren of the Secretariat.

Changsun Wuji faced the emperor's order but refused to accept it.

"I want to see the emperor and give him advice in person."

The imperial attendant Changsun Wuji rejected the emperor's order and wanted to make a remonstrance in person.
The emperor looked at the rejected decree with an expressionless face and remained silent for a long time.

He took out another memorial from the imperial desk and said, "Send this to the emperor's uncle."

The emperor refused Zhangsun Wuji's request to see him and only sent him a memorial.

After receiving the memorial, Changsun Wuji's face flushed. He did not expect that the emperor would refuse to see him.

Looking down at the memorial in his hand, he opened it and began to read, and his face changed drastically.

Li Hongtai, a native of Luoyang, accused Zhangsun Wuji of treason.

Changsun Wuji had served as the governor in Luoyang for several years, and Li Hongtai had been his aide-de-camp. He did not expect that Li Hongtai would accuse him of treason and even report it directly to the emperor.

Behind this memorial,

Attached to the emperor's reply, the officials found out that it was a pure false accusation and ordered an immediate execution.

Chang Sun Wuji's hands could not help but tremble.
After a long time, Zhangsun Wuji returned to the government hall, leaned there tiredly, and said to the clerk, "The decree of His Majesty has been approved."

"Which will is Situ talking about?"

"The imperial edict appointing Tang Lin as the Minister of Justice, Pei Xingjian as the Junior Minister of Justice, Shangguan Yi as the Secretary of the Central Secretariat, and Xu Yushi as the Secretary of the Central Secretariat." Changsun Wuji sighed, waved his hand in a somewhat dejected manner, and asked the clerk to leave.

A deep sense of frustration came over me.
Changsun Wuji was dejected. He had underestimated the emperor's nephew. Li Hongtai's false accusation against him was by no means that simple.

The emperor's order for immediate execution made him feel a murderous aura.

(End of this chapter)