Tibet

Chapter 1237 Li Dai Resigns
Li Ye followed his mother to the Prime Minister's Mansion. He went straight to his father's study and saw him sitting alone on the steps with a hunched back, his eyes full of tears.

Li Ye sat down next to his father and accompanied him in silence.

After a long while, Li Dai slowly said, "He was assassinated by the Khitans. There were different opinions among the top leaders of Goguryeo. Some wanted to surrender to the Khitans, while others firmly opposed surrendering to the Khitans and insisted on the path of independence and restoration. Li Huai opposed surrendering to the Khitans. He was the governor of Pingzhou and had great influence. He had become a stumbling block for the Khitans to annex the Goguryeo army."

After a moment of silence, Li Ye asked again: "Don't the Goguryeo and Khitan people know his true identity?"

Li Dai shook his head. "They always thought he was from the Yuwen family."

"Does he have any other children in Pingzhou?"

Li Dai still shook his head. "His wife from Goguryeo didn't give him any children. He only has Nan'er as his descendant."

Li Ye sighed, "The dead cannot be resurrected, father, please think positively!"

"I know!"

Li Dai also sighed and said, "I had a feeling that this day would come, so I wrote to him many times to persuade him to come back, but he refused to come back. Alas! In Youzhou, a war-torn place, it is only a matter of time for him to encounter danger. But I am very sad. After all, he is my son, and he knows he is wrong."

When he said the last sentence 'he knew he was wrong', Li Dai could no longer hold back, covered his face with his hands, and cried silently.

Li Ye did not try to persuade his father any further. It was difficult to explain with words the pain of an old man seeing his child die young. Only with time would his father slowly get rid of the pain of losing his son.

After crying for a long time, Li Dai finally calmed down. He wiped away his tears and said, "Aye, I want to resign from the position of Right Prime Minister!"

Li Ye was stunned. He was silent for a moment and said, "If my brother were here, I believe he would not agree to your resigning for him."

Li Dai patted Li Ye's shoulder and said, "I am not doing this for him, but for you. Although people in the world will not say anything, my appointment as the right prime minister will affect your prestige."

Li Ye shook his head. "I don't want the ministers to feel like they are living with a tiger!"

"Then you are wrong. Even a wise emperor like Emperor Taizong would never allow his subjects to challenge his authority. Why did he smash Wei Zheng's tombstone? Wei Zheng made him famous, but he also challenged his bottom line."

At this point, Li Dai sighed again and said, "Ye'er, the king is alone, he is high above, his words are law. You can prevent the ministers from feeling like they are living with a tiger, but you must make the ministers look up to you and submit to you. My position as the right prime minister has lowered you, so you can no longer be high above."

Li Ye wanted to say something else, but Li Dai waved his hand and said, "I have made up my mind. Don't try to persuade me anymore. I can inspect education for you, especially the elementary and junior high schools. I will take your mother on a boat to inspect various places. I will teach Nan'er to read in person to make up for the regrets of my life."

Li Ye nodded silently, "Who does father recommend to replace you?"

Li Dai had already made up his mind. He said without hesitation: "I recommend Wei Jiansu for the position!"

"Why not Zhang Li?"

Li Dai shook his head. "Zhang Li is still not experienced enough. He can't support you. You need a right prime minister with rich experience, and someone who is cunning and can judge the situation. It can only be Wei Jiansu. Pei Zunqing and Li Xian are not good enough to support you."

Li Ye nodded and asked, "Who will replace Wei Jiansu?"

"Do you have any candidate of your own?" Li Dai asked back.

"I'm considering using Xiao Hua!"

Li Dai nodded, "Xiao Hua is good, with clear ideas and sufficient qualifications. In fact, I originally wanted to recommend Zhang Hao. This person has the style of a famous prime minister, but he was demoted to the governor of Chenzhou because of his involvement in Li Zhen's rebellion case. It's a pity."

Li Ye pondered for a moment and said, "Let him serve as the Jiannan Road Observation Envoy first, and then use him when there is a vacancy."

The next day, Right Prime Minister Li Dai formally submitted his resignation to Regent Li Ye. Li Ye approved Li Dai's resignation and conferred him the titles of Taifu and Prince of Hongnong. Li Ye also appointed Assistant Prime Minister and Minister of Rites Wei Jiansu as Right Prime Minister of the Secretariat, and appointed Qizhou Governor Xiao Hua as Assistant Prime Minister and Minister of Rites to replace Wei Jiansu.

At the same time, Zhang Hao, the governor of Chenzhou, was appointed as the governor of Jiannan Road and the governor of Yizhou, replacing Cui Yuan, who committed suicide out of fear of punishment. The series of appointments and dismissals shocked the court and the public, especially Li Dai, who was dismissed less than a year after taking office as the right prime minister, which made all officials feel very sorry. However, Li Dai was the father of the regent, and this was a matter between them, so although they felt regretful, they were not angry.

What's more, the appointment and dismissal of officials above the third rank was originally the power of the regent. Li Ye was exercising his power, so it was not appropriate for the officials to comment on it.
In the regent's official room, Li Ye asked Wei Jiansu to sit down and said with a smile: "Congratulations to Prime Minister Wei for returning to the position of right prime minister again!"

"Thank you for your trust, Your Highness. I really didn't expect this."

Wei Jiansu was a little uneasy. He had to find out why Li Dai resigned, so that he would understand why he took office. This was very important. Why did the Regent choose him at this critical moment?
"Your Highness, has something happened to your father? Why would he suddenly resign when he was fine?"

The smile on Li Ye's face disappeared. He was silent for a moment and said, "Prime Minister Wei should know that I have a half-brother!"

Wei Jiansu nodded. "I remember, his name seemed to be Li Huai. Because of his mother Yuwenluo's affair, his relationship with your father became strained. I heard he went to Youzhou."

Li Ye said slowly, "He married the daughter of the Lu family, a prominent family in Goguryeo. He has been serving as the governor of Pingzhou for the past few years. He is considered to be the representative of the interests of the Goguryeo people. He was assassinated two months ago because he opposed the incorporation of the Youzhou Goguryeo people into the Khitan. My father only got the news yesterday, and it was a big blow to him."

Wei Jiansu suddenly realized that it was because of the death of his eldest son. Li Ye said calmly: "Although my father is very sad, he decided to resign from the position of prime minister several months ago."

"what!"

Wei Jiansu was confused again. It turned out that the decision had been made several months ago. It had nothing to do with the death of his eldest son!

Li Ye changed the subject and said, "I asked Prime Minister Wei to come here to discuss the priorities of the next few months. The resettlement of the Goguryeo people goes without saying. Then there is transportation and water transport. The Danba Waterway has been opened, which involves the adjustment of the transportation of freight materials for local governments. This requires the Political Affairs Hall to make arrangements. The third most important issue is tax reform. Abolish household tax and other miscellaneous taxes, reduce land taxes, start collecting salt taxes, implement salt and iron monopolies, and then slowly expand to wine and sugar. The Internal Guard will fully escort to ensure the success of the tax reform."

Wei Jiansu nodded, "I understand. Your Highness, please rest assured that I will implement these important arrangements as soon as possible."

"That's it, Prime Minister Wei, go and take up your duties!"

Wei Jiansu bowed, said goodbye to Li Ye and left.

At noon, in the Baiyu Hall of Anranju Restaurant, Li Dai invited Wei Jiansu to have lunch together. They had just made a handover. In the Council of State Affairs Hall, the Minister of Personnel Li Mi read out the Regent Order, officially appointing Wei Jiansu as the Right Prime Minister of the Secretariat.

But Wei Jiansu still felt a little uneasy. He still didn't understand why the Regent chose him as the right prime minister at this critical moment.

Seeing Li Dai's haggard face, Wei Jiansu comforted him, "I know about your son's situation. My dear brother, please accept my condolences!"

"Did the Regent tell you?"

Wei Jiansu nodded, and Li Dai sighed, "Although I lost my eldest son, he still left me a grandson. I want to educate my grandson myself and make up for the rift between father and son caused by my improper education!"

"I understand you, brother, but this shouldn't be the real reason why you resigned as the right prime minister!"

"Didn't the Regent tell you?"

Wei Jiansu shook his head. "He didn't say anything, so I'm confused. Why me?"

Li Dai poured a glass of wine for Wei Jiansu and said calmly, "I recommended Brother Wei to be the Right Prime Minister. I resigned from the position of Right Prime Minister for the same reason as I recommended Brother to be the Right Prime Minister."

"I'm all ears!"

Li Dai was silent for a moment and said, "Actually, I should call you senior, not brother. My father was the prime minister like you back then."

"That's right. Your father calls me Brother Wei."

Wei Jiansu was confused. Why did Li Dai mention this?

(End of this chapter)