A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Emperor Yuan Cong

Chapter 1325 The Emperor's Choice

April, the first year of Yonghui.

The emperor changed the Jiucheng Palace to Wannian Palace. After more than half a year, the emperor came to this palace in Qizhou again.

The late emperor passed away here last June. After ten months, Cheng Qian finally sorted out the court and could finally take a breath.

The palace is a bit cold.

The emperor thought it was a good opportunity to have some peace and quiet. During this period, the court was arguing over the issue of posthumously conferring Wu Liangdi the title of empress. The emperor's uncle, Zhangsun Wuji, Chu Suiliang, and Yu Zhining were determined not to agree.

The emperor, who had always obeyed his uncle before, unexpectedly turned against him this time. The emperor insisted on posthumously conferring the title of empress on Wu Liangdi and even wanted to posthumously confer the title of King of Zhou on Wu Shigui.

"Your Majesty, urgent news from Hedong: Jinzhou was hit by another earthquake on April 1st, killing over a thousand people."

The emperor was stunned for a moment.

"Another earthquake?"

The emperor, who was about to go hunting on horseback, waved his hand and cancelled the hunting activity.

Li Yifu said to the emperor, "The emperor's uncles will certainly use the Jinzhou earthquake as an excuse to ask Your Majesty to stop posthumously conferring the title of Empress Wu Liangdi."

Cheng Qian frowned. He knew that Li Yifu was right and the king's uncle would definitely not miss this opportunity.

"Your Majesty, in fact, I think that Uncle Changsun is no longer suitable to serve as prime minister in the central government, let alone preside over the affairs of the three provinces."

"Why not use the Jinzhou earthquake as an excuse to ask Uncle Changsun to resign as prime minister?"

The emperor raised his head and looked towards Li Yifu.

"Your Majesty, there was an earthquake in Jinzhou last winter. Your Majesty issued an imperial edict to punish the emperor, and the Grand Commandant took the initiative to resign."

Li Yifu stopped there, but the emperor understood.

Last year's earthquake occurred, and Zhangsun Wuji and others took the opportunity to attack Wu Huaiyu, the prime minister, for being lazy and negligent in his duties while in charge of the three provinces. They said that this was the reason why God sent down the disaster as a warning.

Now that Zhangsun Wuji has taken over Wu Huaiyu's position as the chief administrative officer of the three provinces, and Jinzhou has been hit by an earthquake, Li Yifu and the others can naturally use their own methods to retaliate.

The reasons are ready. Just as Changsun Wuji and his men attacked Wu Huaiyu last year, they can be used to attack Changsun Wuji this year.

Wu Huaiyu resigned last year, so will you, Changsun Wuji, resign this year?

Li Yifu had long seen the emperor's dissatisfaction with Zhangsun Guojiu, and the suggestion he put forward at this time was just right.

"Send an order and return to Beijing."

That same day, the emperor rushed back to Chang'an.

After returning to Chang'an, the emperor immediately summoned the ministers.
"I have succeeded to the throne of the emperor, but my punishments and education are unclear, which has led to many earthquakes in Jinzhou. This is indeed due to unfair rewards and punishments and absurd political principles. You should report to me and try your best to point out the gains and losses of politics and education to save me from my shortcomings."

"From today on, I will avoid the main hall and reduce my meals."

"Send ministers to Jinzhou immediately to express condolences and provide relief to the victims, and transfer doctors from the two capitals to provide medical treatment. Be sure to show compassion and sympathy to show my concern for the people."

"Dali Qing."

The emperor personally summoned Tang Lin, the Minister of Justice, to inquire about the number of prisoners held in prison.
"Your Majesty, there are more than 50 prisoners in the Dali Temple Prison in Chang'an, and only two of them are sentenced to death."

"All criminals sentenced to death and exile will be reduced to a lower level, and all criminals sentenced to prison terms or below will be pardoned, except for the ten heinous crimes."

Emperor Li Chengqian was very satisfied with Tang Lin's performance since he took office as the Dali Qing. "When I was the crown prince, you served me. Now I am the emperor and you are serving me again. Based on your loyalty in the past, I have entrusted you with such an important task. The most important thing in governing a country is the law. You must ensure that the law is enforced impartially, which is in line with my wishes."

The emperor personally examined the crimes of the prisoners sentenced to death in the palace.

In the past, the prisoners sentenced by the Dali Qing cried out that they were wronged, but no one cried out that the prisoners sentenced by Tang Lin were wronged.

"The court needs officials like this."

The emperor promoted Tang Lin to the position of Imperial Censor in the palace, added the title of Jinzi Guanglu Doctor, and added the rank of Tongzhongshu Menxia Third Rank, and appointed him as prime minister.

He also selected Pei Xingjian from among the two Dali Shaoqings to be the Inspecting Dali Qing and awarded him purple gold.

Li Ji, the third-rank official who served as the Imperial Secretary and the Minister of the Secretariat, stepped out.

He resigned from his position as prime minister on the grounds of an earthquake in Jinzhou and drought in the capital area.

The emperor refused, and Li Ji refused.

"Then I will temporarily remove you from the position of Shizhong, and continue to serve as Kaifu Yitong Sansi Tongzhongshumenxia third rank."

Your Majesty,

Many eyes turned to Li Ji, especially the Prime Minister Zhangsun Wuji.

Just now, the emperor issued an edict of repentance, and then Li Ji resigned as prime minister. Isn't this forcing his uncle, the prime minister, to resign?

The king's uncle's glare was as sharp as a knife, but unfortunately after Li Ji resigned from the post of Shizhong, he returned to his original position and lowered his head like an old monk in meditation.

Many eyes looked over.

Changsun Wuji knew that he couldn't escape, and he also understood the emperor's intention to some extent. If he didn't resign, there would definitely be more tricks later.

If you are not decent, the emperor will make you dishonorable.

Zhang Sun Wuji had a gloomy face. He, Chu Suiliang and Yu Zhining had already privately discussed that they would take advantage of the earthquake in Jinzhou to force the emperor to stop posthumously conferring the title of empress on Wu.
In their view, this matter was not just as simple as conferring the title of empress to a deceased Wu Liangdi. It was a necessary struggle with the Wu Party.

Otherwise, if Wu was crowned as queen and Wu Shigui was crowned as king, the Wu party's arrogance would completely overshadow them. This could not be allowed and must be fought for.

But I didn't expect that they didn't have time to attack today.
As a result, things have taken a sharp turn for the worse.

Changsun Wuji's eyes swept across the prime ministers and ministers in the hall, including the Shizhong Xu Jingzong, the Huangmen Shilang Li Yifu, the Zuo Pushe Zhang Xingcheng, and the Zhongshu Shilang Lai Ji. These four people were the core members of the Wu Party, and this matter was definitely related to them.

His eyes fell on Li Ji again.

Li Ji jumped out today. Does this mean he has become part of the Wu Party?

Then he looked at the other prime ministers, Yu Zhining, the Right Prime Minister, Gao Jifu, the Minister of the Central Secretariat, Cui Dunli, the Minister of War, and Han Yuan, the Imperial Court Assistant Minister.
The palace was very quiet.
Changsun Wuji sighed inwardly and had to stand up and leave in the hall.

But Zhangsun Wuji was unwilling to leave the central government, so he did not resign like Li Ji did just now.
He simply resigned from the post of Shangshu Province to the Emperor.

He neither resigned from the position of Censor-in-Chief nor from the position of concurrently in charge of Menxia Province.

The palace was quiet again.

You can hear the needle drop.

After a long silence,
The emperor spoke.

"Since the prince is not feeling well, you should rest at home and come to the government hall every two or three days to discuss government affairs."

The emperor granted Zhangsun Wuji's resignation in the palace.

"The uncle of the emperor is the third rank official in the Ministry of Rites. When he is in better health, he will go to the Ministry of Rites to discuss government affairs in a few days."

The emperor directly dismissed Zhangsun Wuji from his posts as the acting minister of the Secretariat, concurrently as the minister of state, and as the minister of the two ministries.

Changsun Wuji opened his mouth wide and couldn't utter a word for a long time.

The hall was quiet again. Everyone heard clearly that Uncle Changsun only resigned from the position of concurrent director of the Secretariat. However, the emperor seemed to have heard it wrongly. He thought that Uncle Changsun wanted to resign from all three ministries and directly agreed to his request.

Of course, those who can be in this temple are not stupid.

The emperor is so young, how could he have heard it wrong?

Changsun Wuji felt so suffocated that he couldn't swallow it, but he was helpless.

Could he stand up and say that he only resigned from the position of Minister of the Secretariat, but not from the positions of Minister of the Secretariat and Minister of Palace Affairs?

If I really say that, today will be completely disgraceful.

This emperor's nephew really showed no mercy at all.
It has been less than a year since he ascended the throne, but he is already tired of his uncle.

Bitterness in my heart,

He has been assisting in the administration with all his heart. How could his own uncle, me, harm him? Am I no match for Wu Huaiyu, an outsider?
"Jinzhou has experienced several major earthquakes, and we need a capable minister to take charge."

"Chu Qing, you are very capable, so I will send you to Jinzhou as the governor."

When the Minister of Personnel Chu Suiliang heard the appointment, he could only step forward helplessly to accept the imperial decree. He knew that he was being kicked out of the court by the emperor again.

Zhangsun Wuji seized the positions of the three ministries. Although he still retained the title of third-rank prime minister, he could not directly manage the three ministries and his power was not as great as before.

The prime ministers Cui Renshi and Yuwen Jie, who were originally on their side, turned against them and were banished from the capital.

Now only Han Yuan, Cui Dunli, Yu Zhining and Gao Jifu are left on their side, but Cui Dunli and Gao Jifu may not be truly on the same page with them.

The three veterans who were recalled at the beginning of the new monarch's reign, namely, Taiwei Wu Huaiyu, Situ Zhangsun Wuji, and Duke of England Li Ji, no longer have official positions in the three provinces. Wu Huaiyu holds the title of Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi, while Zhangsun Wuji and Li Ji both hold only the title of Tong Zhongshu Menxia Sanpin.

Although he was still called the Prime Minister, in reality he was completely different.

Especially for Uncle Sun, the emperor asked him to recuperate at home and only come to the government hall once every two or three days when he was in good health. This was actually kicking him out of the center.

In comparison, although Wu Huaiyu took the initiative to avoid going to the Council of State, whenever there was an important event, the emperor would take the initiative to invite Wu Huaiyu to the palace to discuss the matter, and Wu Huaiyu's influence on the emperor and the court was still enormous.

Today, the remaining prime ministers are no longer dominated by the Guanlong faction of the emperor's uncle.

The left servant Zhang Xingcheng, the right servant Yu Zhining, the Zhongshu Ling Gao Ji Fu, and the Shizhong Xu Jingzong.

The Secretary of the Central Secretariat Lai Ji, the Secretary of the Imperial Household Li Yifu, the Secretary of the Imperial Household Han Yuan, the Minister of War Cui Dunli, and the Imperial Censor Tang Lin.

Nominally, the imperial court still has twelve prime ministers.

But apart from the three elders, there were nine prime ministers left, and the Wu Party directly occupied five of them. The Guanlong faction still had four, but Gao Jifu and Cui Dunli were not necessarily that reliable.

Reshuffled.

After the court meeting ended, the emperor strode away, feeling indescribably happy.

It would be good if the three ministers sat and discussed philosophy instead of taking charge of affairs.

Since Teacher Wu Huaiyu is unwilling to take up actual duties, and even unwilling to go to the Political Affairs Hall, then there is no need for the uncle of the emperor, Changsun Wuji, to stay in the central government.

After nearly a year, Li Chengqian finally understood why the late emperor had advised not to use Wuji as prime minister.
The king's uncle is too eager to seize power.

Even ignoring him, a 33-year-old emperor,

In the three ministries and the Council of State, officials had to act according to Zhangsun Wuji's mood. Although he was the emperor, his orders were often rejected by Zhangsun Wuji.

The posthumous title of Empress Wu was Cheng Qian's final test of the Emperor's uncle, but the result disappointed him as the Emperor's uncle refused to give in at all.

In this case, there is no need for the King's uncle to stay in the center any longer.

After the king's uncle was relieved of his duties in the three ministries, there was naturally no need to keep Chu Suiliang as an eyesore in the court. It was impossible to give such an important position as the Minister of Personnel to Chu Suiliang.

Back to the Imperial Study,
Li Chengqian thought for a long time, and finally chose Du Zhenglun as the new Minister of Personnel between Du Zhenglun and Liu Shi.

The emperor also knew that Du Zhenglun was his teacher Wu Huaiyu's man, but now he hated his uncle and even the Guanlong faction. He would rather use people from Wu Huaiyu's side than the Guanlong faction.

Du Zhenglun was already the Minister of the Central Secretariat at the beginning of the Zhenguan Period, but was later banished from the capital for leaking the imperial court's words. In the middle of the Zhenguan Period, he was recalled to the court and served as the Left Secretary and Scholar of the Chongxian Hall in the Eastern Palace, but was later demoted again for offending the emperor.
At the end of Zhenguan period, he was able to return to the court, and was appointed as the Minister of the Secretariat and the Prince's Left Secretary. However, he offended Zhangsun Wuji again and was implicated in Fang Yiai's rebellion case, and was demoted to Jiaozhi again.

On the same day,

The emperor sent an edict to the Council of State Affairs, summoning Huanzhou Governor Du Zhenglun back to the court, and appointed him as the Secretary of the Central Secretariat and Minister of Personnel, and still served as the Prince's Left Secretary and a scholar of the Chongxian Hall, and restored his title of Marquis of Nanyang County.

Wu Huaiyu heard at home that Zhangsun Wuji had been stripped of his three provincial posts, Li Ji had also resigned from his post as minister of state, and Chu Suiliang had been demoted to governor of Jinzhou.

"Prepare the horses and go to the countryside of Sanyuan Longqiao."

Wu Huaiyu went to Sanyuan countryside to visit his old father that day. He was too lazy to pay attention to the hustle and bustle in Chang'an.

He grew up watching Emperor Li Chengqian, and he knew Chengqian's character very well.
The more Changsun Wuji coveted power and fought for power, the more the emperor would distance himself from him. On the contrary, the more Wu Huaiyu refused to fight for power, the more the emperor would trust and rely on him.

In fact, when it comes to the status of Wu Huaiyu and Changsun Wuji,
It is not necessary to be in charge of three provinces or hold any position in order to be in power.

Even if Wu Huaiyu did not have the title of Tongzhongshumenxia Pingzhangshi, his influence would not be reduced in the slightest.

Again, the new emperor is thirty-three years old, not thirteen, much less three. How can Zhangsun Wuji make all the decisions for the emperor?
If you don't position yourself correctly, you will naturally be kicked out by the emperor.

With Wu Huaiyu's strong support, it would be easy for Cheng Qian, who had been the crown prince for 25 years, to kick Changsun Wuji out.

In history, Emperor Gaozong, Li Zhi, who had been the crown prince for only six years before ascending the throne, had a weak foundation and relied entirely on the assistance of Zhangsun Wuji. However, he only tolerated him for ten years before banishing him from the capital and soon having him killed outside the capital.

Men are all power-hungry.
But there must be a limit. You cannot compete with the emperor for power.

Wu Huaiyu really wanted to have some tea with Changsun Wuji and give him some good advice. If things continued like this, Changsun Wuji would soon be destroyed, which was not the result Wu Huaiyu wanted to see.

He still hoped that Changsun Wuji could stay in Chang'an, at least to distract the emperor's attention.

Wu Huaiyu felt that the apparent balance between the Guanlong faction and the new noble faction in the court was quite good, although Cui Dunli and Gao Jifu were actually neutral.

Too much is as bad as too little, and everything that prospers will eventually decline.

Wu Huaiyu is quite satisfied with the current situation and hopes it can be maintained.

He is now in a hurry to go to the countryside in Sanyuan, actually just to avoid the limelight.

Longqiao is becoming more and more lively.

Since the Sanyuan County seat moved to Longqiao Qinghe Township, the county seat has become the most prosperous county seat in Weibei. Countless houses have been built on both sides of the Qinghe River, and two more bridges have been built on the Qinghe River. Now there are three bridges connecting the two sides of the Qinghe River.

One county with two cities, Sanyuan City is the largest medicinal material processing and distribution center in Guanlong.

Old Wu is already 85 years old, but he is still in good health. He is leaning on the rhinoceros stick given by the late emperor and is in good spirits. This old marquis is highly respected in the surrounding areas of Weibei.

Now that he is old, he is no longer interested in taking concubines and having children. He is kind and generous, and likes to build bridges and roads, help the orphans and widows, and rescue the poor.

As long as someone comes to him, Lao Wu is willing to help generously.

Lao Wu now has a good reputation.

Summer evening,

The father and son sat by the Qing River drinking tea and chatting, enjoying their leisure time.

(End of this chapter)