A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Emperor Yuan Cong

Chapter 987: Ranked in Lingyan Pavilion

Standing in this Lingyan Pavilion,
There is a feeling of being lost in a trance.

Among the prime ministers of Wude Dynasty, the only one who could go to Lingyan Pavilion was Te Jin Xiao Yu.

There were seventeen heroes of Li Yuan's Taiyuan Yuanmou, and finally six people including Changsun Shunde, Liu Hongji, Chai Shao, Tang Jian, Yin Kaishan, and Samurai Xun were appointed to the cabinet.

Historically, there was Liu Zhenghui who was in power, but now he has been overthrown by his uncle and nephew from the Wu family.

However, the six Taiyuan Yuanmou heroes who were able to go up were actually basically people who supported Li Shimin.
Yin Kaishan died early when he was conquering Luoyang. Liu Hongji and his eldest grandson Shunde had been committing crimes since the beginning of Zhenguan, and Li Shimin took the opportunity to kick them out of the center of power.

Tang Jian and Gao Shitong had their ups and downs, but they were reused.

"Huaiyu, I will never forget your achievements."

Twenty-four heroes, eighteen bachelors.

Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui were both the Twenty-Four Heroes and the Eighteenth Bachelor, and so was Yu Shinan originally.

"What you said makes sense. According to the tradition that the deceased is the most important, let's adjust it so that Du Ruhui ranks second, Samurai Xun ranks third, and I have wronged you fourth."

"Your Majesty, I still have a request,"

One hero number can save one death, and two hero numbers are equivalent to two death-free gold coupons.

The current hero of Lingyan Pavilion,

Historically, in the 17th year of Zhenguan, Li Shimin lamented that most of the heroes who conquered the world together had withered away, so he designed the Lingyan Pavilion,

Wu Huaiyu, a border official from far away from Lingnan, could also rank second with Sikong.

As an example,

Under normal circumstances, if a person is demoted to a noble rank, his descendants will have no meritorious deeds, and the honor of a gentleman will be cut off in five generations.

Based on this alone, the titles of the heroes of Lingyan Pavilion can be guaranteed to be hereditary for three generations without having to be demoted.

Compared with the list of actual meritorious officials at the beginning of Zhenguan and the previous list of Shifengshishi,

Wu Huaiyu also didn't want to be ranked second, and he was not first. There was no practical benefit in being ranked so high, but it would easily make him the target of public criticism.

Therefore, Changsun Wuji, who has been on the bench for ten years, can be ranked first with Situ.

It's probably equivalent to eating in the Ancestral Temple after death.

Lingyan Pavilion can be ranked higher.

Wu Huaiyu dropped from second to fourth, but he didn't care at all.

First grade, second grade and third grade, first rank, then rank and then nobility.

Li Jing actually suffered a disadvantage because he died late. When he was elected to Lingyan Pavilion, he was a special advance, but the next year he was promoted to the third division of Kaifu Yitong. In the 23rd year of Zhenguan, Li Jing died, and he was posthumously awarded the title of Situ and Governor of Bingzhou. , Li Jing died only seven days earlier than Li Shimin.

Qin Qiong and Li Jing were both members of the Yitong Sansi Division of the Kaifu, but Qin Qiong's Crown Prince and Grand Master was higher than Li Jing's Crown Prince and Grand Protector.

Starting from the first rank, the one with the highest position is of course Changsun Wuji, who was a disciple of the Third Company, followed by Sikong Wuhuaiyu, and then Du Ruhui and the warrior Xun who were given to Sikong after his death.

Li Shimin personally adjusted the positions of the portraits of the three Sikongs, Wu Huaiyu, Du Ruhui and Warrior Xun, so that the deceased was the largest.

I looked at the portraits of the twenty-four heroes and eighteen scholars of Lingyan Pavilion one by one. Next to each portrait was a short biography of the hero that the emperor asked the historian to write, recording their achievements.

The twenty-four people who can be on the list are all at least the third-grade doctor Jin Ziguanglu or the champion general.

Fang Xuanling, Wei Zheng, Gao Shilian and others are obviously able to rank among the three princes after death.

Those who can enter Lingyan Pavilion are basically those who have served the country and have served the emperor. Naturally, those who are ranked according to their current official rank are the best.

If Fan Xing hadn't been demoted before, he would still be ranked a few higher.

"I request that Duke Cheng of Lai and Duke Ming of Zhou be listed in front of me."

There are only five first-class people on that list.

This time, the list of twenty-four heroes is basically all Li Shimin's people, and those of Li Yuan are basically excluded. The only remaining few are on the list because they followed Emperor Zhenguan and gained trust.

Those who received the title of hero of Lingyan Pavilion this time can add the title of "hero of Lingyan Pavilion" to their official titles in the future. Wu Huaiyu had already received the title of hero of Zhenguan Yuancong, and now has two titles of hero.

Although Pei Ji once worshiped Sikong and Feng Deyi also gave him a gift after his death, Pei Ji was later dismissed from his official position and exiled, while Feng Deyi was exposed after his death. In terms of qualifications, let alone ranking.

Although the three of them were both Sikong, Du Ruhui and the warrior Xun were already dead. They were of the same rank, and the dead were ranked in front of the living. This was also a sign of respect.

The top four are all Sangong of the first rank, and the fifth to ninth are all from the Third Division of the Prince or the Third Division of Kaifu Yitong.

At that time, most of Wei Zheng, Li Xiaogong, etc. were deceased, and they all gave gifts to Sikong after their deaths. Therefore, Li Xiaogong ranked second, Wei Zheng ranked fourth, and Du Ruhui, who died early, ranked third. The three dead Sikong were all ranked first among the living. Before Sikong Fangxuanling, Fangxuanling was only ranked fifth.

If Li Jing died now, he would definitely be given posthumously to San Gong for his achievements, at least as Sikong. Similarly, if Li Xiaogong died now, he would definitely be able to make a profit.

"Your Majesty, how can I be so virtuous and capable as to rank above Fang Du and others?"

On the list, Kaifu Yitong, the third division commander, and Right Servant Gao Shilian ranked sixth.
Yuchi Jingde was ranked seventh before Li Jing, because Yuchi had a first-grade official of Kaifuyi Tongsansi, while Li Jing was only a second-grade special Jin at that time, ranking eighth.

But today is not the late Tang and Five Dynasties, and there is no formal system for the title of hero, but it is indeed more precious.

"These twenty-four heroes in Lingyan Pavilion are all carefully selected by me, and their rankings are also based on official titles."

Although Fang Xuanling's achievements were high, he was only from the first rank of Crown Prince Taifu, Kaifu Yi Tongsansi, and from the second rank of Shangshu Zuopushe, which was not as good as that of Prince Qin Qiong and Grand Master.

Although Wu Huaiyu didn't believe in the death-free coupons awarded by the emperors, whoever got more of them would die faster.

"You said."

But in the tenth year of Zhenguan, the emperor had designated the twenty-four heroes of Lingyan Pavilion, and Wu Huaiyu had taken advantage of him. Sikong, who was alive, could also be ranked fourth.

Coming out of Lingyan Pavilion,

Li Shimin and Wu Huaiyu talked about Wen Yanbo and Hou Junji again.

"Your servant, Wen Yanbo, is seriously ill and I'm afraid he doesn't have much time left."

"I planned to promote Gao Shilian to Youpushe and let Hou Junji take over as Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs. However, Fang Xuanling strongly opposed this time. Yesterday, we had a quarrel with him and broke up. In anger, I sent Xuanling to Return." Wu Huaiyu was a little surprised, Fang Xuanling was Li Shimin's most important official.

Serving Li Shimin can be said to be conscientious and always respectful and cautious, unlike those old prime ministers like Xiao Yu and Chen Shuda who dared to openly quarrel or even fight in front of the emperor, nor like Wei Zheng who spit on the emperor at every turn.

Nor will he be two-faced like Feng Deyi, who does one thing in front of others and the other behind his back.
Especially when I heard that Fang Xuanling had been prime minister for many years and had never revealed any secrets. He had never even told his children about work at home.

"Your Majesty, the Prime Minister has served your Majesty for a long time and has always been loyal. It is not a major fault. Your Majesty, please don't embarrass him."

Li Shimin was actually a little irritable,

There had been some problems between him and Fang Xuanling recently, and he knew it very well. This incident between Gao and Hou was just an outbreak that had been brewing for a long time.

Due to the issue of clan annals, Fang Xuanling and Wei Zheng had a rare agreement in their attitudes. They both opposed the emperor's standards for revising clan annals, believing that doing so was inappropriate and would easily arouse dissatisfaction among the old gentry.

Li Shimin thought that Fang Xuanling had a crooked butt because his wife was the Lu family of Fanyang, his mother was the Li family of Zhaojun, and his eldest son married the Du family of Jingzhao. Although the second son of his family was married to his daughter Princess Gaoyang by Li Shimin, the elder The third one granted marriage to the daughter of King Chang of Han, and his eldest daughter was promised to King Han as his concubine.

The royal family married Fang Xuanling's three children, and Wu Huaiyu only had one son and one daughter married into the royal family.

But Fang Xuanling still stood on the side of the old gentry, which made Li Shimin very dissatisfied, especially because Fang Xuanling also used the clan chronicle to attack the editor-in-chief Gao Shilian.

Fang Xuanling, Gao Shilian, and Changsun Wuji's uncle and nephew had always been secretly at odds with each other. Li Shimin had known about it for a long time, and he was usually willing to see this kind of discord, for the sake of balance.

But this time he clearly revealed his attitude, but Fang Xuanling still clung to this matter, which made Li Shimin very angry.

The surname in this world is Li.

You, Fang Xuanling, are my servant, Li Shimin. You don't understand the emperor's will, but you always speak to those five surnames and seven sects. What do you mean?
Then Wen Yanbo became seriously ill this time and could no longer serve as prime minister. Li Shimin chose Gao Shilian to take over the right servant. Fang Xuanling strongly opposed it.

Li Shimin wanted to propose Hou Junji as Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, but Fang Xuanling strongly opposed it.

In a rage, Li Shimin got angry at Fang Xuanling and told him to go home.

The emperor was so angry that his eyes almost popped out of his head at that time, and he immediately scolded him and asked him to go home and suspend his duties to reflect.

When Fang Xuanling retired, the emperor kicked over the imperial case.

Compared with Wei Zheng's previous resignation on the grounds of old age and blurred vision, his attitude was much more intense.

"If it doesn't work, I'll let Wuji be the Zuopushe, Huaiyu you can be the Right Pusher, and I'll let Fang Xuanling be the Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs!" Li Shimin said angrily.

Wu Huaiyu didn't take it seriously either.

He knew that Changsun Wuji, like him, now had very high official positions, one was Situ and the other was Sikong, but the emperor just refused to let them truly hold the central power.

Don't even think about entering the political hall, let alone the left and right servants.

The one the emperor really trusted was Fang Xuanling. Although Fang Xuanling had a good relationship with the Five Surnames and Seven Families and was closely married to the royal family, to the emperor, Fang Xuanling was always a civil servant, and the Qinghe Fang family's background was not that deep. , letting this old guy serve as the 'prime minister' will not pose much of a threat.

The eldest grandson Wuji is different. Firstly, the eldest grandson has a strong desire for power. Secondly, he is also the elder brother of the queen. Furthermore, the core family of the eldest grandson's Guanlong Group has him in charge of the center. With Gao Shilian, the uncle of the prime minister, the threat is too great. .

The emperor also did not want Wu Huaiyu to be in the center, because he had grown so rapidly, with great ability and prestige, yet he was still so young.

Wu Huaiyu had already seen through Li Shimin, so he said from time to time, you will lead the battle of Songzhou, you will stay in the court as prime minister, and you will be the right servant to shoot. These are all false, even intentional or unintentional by the emperor. a kind of temptation.

Look at Li Ji. At the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China, he said that he would give people the title of king. However, nearly twenty years later, Li Ji is still only a third-rank doctor, Jin Ziguanglu, who was just promoted last year.

"I think Gao Shilian is quite suitable to be the right servant."

"As for the Minister of Civil Affairs, Your Majesty asked Hou Junji to take charge of Liangzhou and guard Qinghai for less than a year. Now that the war there has resumed, it is not appropriate to change the general at this time."

Li Shimin walked slowly with his hands behind his back and thought carefully. He still wanted to use Hou Junji. In his eyes, Hou Junji was loyal and capable. The most important thing is that Hou Junji has a normal relationship with Changsun Wuji, Wu Huaiyu and even Fang Xuanling.
"Then let Xu Jingzong inspect the school's official affairs minister, and Cui Qian inspect the school's Huangmen minister," the emperor said.

The left servant of Shangshu shot Fang Xuanling, and the right servant shot Gao Shilian.
Yang Shidao, the servant in charge, knew Wei Zheng, the servant of the sect, and Wei Ting and Cui Qian, the servants of Huangmen.
Zhongshu Ling Ma Zhou, Zhongshu Minister Cen Wenwen and Liu Jie,
Xu Jingzong, the Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs of the school, Doulu Kuan, the Minister of the Ministry of War, Hou Junji, the Minister of the Ministry of War of the School,

Wang Gui, the Minister of Rites, Li Daozong, the Minister of Punishments, Xiao Yu, the Minister of Civil Affairs, Duan Lun, the Minister of Works,
"Xu Jingzong is also one of the eighteen bachelors of the Qin Palace. He has gradually become more stable over the years and his performance is still good."

Wu Huaiyu lamented in his heart that Xu Jingzong was really lucky this time. The emperor had a fight with Fang Xuanling, Lian Chang, Sun Wuji and others, but he got an advantage in the end.

It is customary for the Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs to be able to enter the political affairs hall and become the Prime Minister. However, the emperor only granted Xu Jingzong the title of Inspector of the Ministry of Civil Affairs and did not participate in the political title. It seems that he will be inspected for a period of time before he is qualified to become the Prime Minister. .

"What do you think of Xu Jingzong's inspection of the School of Civil Affairs?" the emperor asked him.

"I feel that Cen Wenwen, the Minister of Zhongshu, is more suitable to be the Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs. He has been in charge of secrets for many years and is cautious in handling affairs. Xu Jingzong has not been the Minister of Huangmen for a long time, and he can still practice more."

Who didn't know that Xu Jingzong was Wu Huaiyu's son, so Wu Huaiyu recommended Cen Wenwen instead.

Li Shimin smiled and said, "Cen Wenwen and Ma Zhou are both my royal penholders. Zhongshu cannot do without them, so let Xu Jingzong give it a try."

Wu Huaiyu heard some different meanings from it. Perhaps the emperor had reserved the position of Minister of the Ministry of Personnel to Hou Junji. Now that the Tibetans were attacking, it was not appropriate to mobilize Hou Junji, so he asked Xu Jingzong to inspect the school first.

After the battle against Tubo was completed, the emperor recalled Hou Junji to the court to be appointed Minister of War, and took advantage of the situation to participate in the government affairs and join the political affairs hall to resume his prime ministership.

As for how Xu Jingzong will arrange it at that time, he can be given the title of Minister of Rites or something, which is not difficult to arrange.

······
"Aye will go to Lingnan tomorrow, but you don't have to worry. Your mother will stay in Chang'an from now on and will visit you often.

When you are free, you can also leave the palace and go home to visit your grandma. "

The emperor gave Mr. Wu Huaiyu some time alone,
Without the emperor by his side, the four children were much more relaxed.
"Don't worry, Aye, I will take good care of my brothers and sisters." Wu Chengsi said loudly. He is now studying in Chongxian Hall and lives in the side hall next to Wude Hall. Except for going to Chongxian Hall in the East Palace for classes, he spends the rest of his time At Wude Hall, the emperor would check his homework when he was free, and even teach him archery and horseback riding.
There are many children of heroes like him in the palace. They are not very old, but their family backgrounds are more astonishing than the last.

Lao Qi and Lao Ba were studying at the Hongwen Hall in Taiji Palace, accompanying a group of emperor's younger brothers and princes. They lived with Chengsi, and the brothers had someone to take care of them, while their daughter was taken care of. Queen Changsun took her with her, keeping company with Jinyang Gaoyang and other princesses.

"Being in the palace is no different than at home. Don't be willful and learn to be independent and self-reliant. When you encounter problems, you can go to the eunuch Zhang Anan or write to your grandma."

Chengsi has done quite well and can adapt to the life here. Although he is uncomfortable everywhere in the palace, he knows that this is not a free choice.

Lao Shiba didn't like it here and always wanted to go home. At this time, he pursed his lips, hugged Huaiyu's legs and cried.

Wu Huaiyu was helpless,

But it can only last a few years, and it is impossible for them, the sons of heroes, to be raised in the palace forever. The princes usually leave the palace at the latest when they are sixteen years old.

The children of these heroes will probably leave the palace at the age of thirteen or fourteen at most, and it will only take a few years to get through.

(End of this chapter)