Tibet.

Chapter 1270 Abdication Proposal

In Chang'an, the celebratory atmosphere of eliminating the feudal lords had not yet passed, and the sound of gongs and drums could be heard from time to time. A few days ago, a grand parade was held in Chang'an to celebrate the return of Hebei to the imperial court.

For several days, Chang'an was like the New Year. The whole city was decorated with lights and was filled with joy. The people sang and danced, expressing their joy from the bottom of their hearts.

Everyone knows that once the war is over, military spending will inevitably be greatly reduced, the war taxes on everyone will be greatly reduced, and improvements in life will be just around the corner.

The court even announced a two-day holiday to celebrate, and at the same time announced to the world that all the victories were achieved under the leadership of His Royal Highness the Regent, and that His Royal Highness the Regent personally led the army to fight in Hebei.

The court's push was met with a response, as hundreds of thousands of people in the parade shouted, 'Long live the Regent! Long live the Regent!'

This is the powerful public opinion. His Royal Highness the Regent's ascension to the throne is what everyone wants.

That afternoon, Dugu Lie came to his brother Dugu Ming's house. Dugu Ming was in a very good mood. His daughter Dugu Taiwei had given birth to a son a few days ago, who was very strong and cute.

His wife also threw away all her prejudices and ran to the Regent's Palace to take care of her daughter and visit her grandson.

"Brother, you've come at the right time. What do you think of the name Li Ju? It means climbing a tree!"

Dugu Lie burst out laughing. His brother was naming his grandson!

"It's OK! The key is whether the child's grandfather agrees."

Dugu Ming laughed, "I've already told him, he said he must give me this favor."

"That's good. Li Ju is a good name."

"I'll tell the kid's father later and let him give me the right to name the kid."

"I have something to talk to you about!" Dugu Lie reminded.

Dugu Ming nodded, "Let's go to the study and talk!"

The two of them came to the study and sat down. Dugu Lie said, "Recently, there has been a lot of calls for the regent to ascend the throne, but the court has not made any moves yet. It's just that everyone is talking about it. I want to give it a push and have the Guanlong nobles collectively sign a petition. What do you think?"

The Guanlong aristocracy, together with their allies, accounted for nearly 30% of the court officials, and their power was indeed considerable.

Dugu Ming pondered for a moment and said, "I thought about this issue last year. After all, the emperor is still alive and has not made any mistakes. If we force him to abdicate, it would be inappropriate both legally and legally. I think it would be better for the emperor to abdicate first, rather than the regent. We can find an excuse for the young emperor to abdicate."

Dugu Lie nodded, "You are right, everyone knows that the emperor is a fool, he lives in his own world, how can such a person be the emperor?"

"So we need to publicize this, but it has something to do with the Zhang family. I suggest that you talk to Zhang Li first."

Dugu Lie frowned, "Why do we have to talk to Zhang Li? Shouldn't he have taken the initiative to bring it up?"

Dugu Ming sighed, "I'm afraid Zhang Li wants to use this last opportunity to bargain."

Dugu Lie sneered, "If he is smart, he won't do this. If he dares to do this, he will collapse in half a year at most. If he takes the initiative and works harder, maybe the Regent will really give him a favor, and I won't interfere!"

Dugu Ming nodded, "In that case, let Wei Jiansu go and talk to him! Brother wants to write a joint letter, I fully support it."

"Not only is it a joint petition, but it's also a good omen!"

Dugu Lie whispered, "I want to take out the Yong Ding from my family's collection. What do you think?"

Dugu Ming hesitated and said, "Although it is a Qin Ding, it is not the real Nine Ding. It is just a replica of the Qin Dynasty. I am afraid it will be discovered."

Dugu Lie smiled faintly, "No one knows what the real Nine Cauldrons look like. What if I say it is the Yong Ding, one of the Nine Cauldrons? Besides, it is a tripod from the Qin Dynasty, a symbol of the dynasty. Our ancestors received this tripod during the Sui Dynasty and kept it in a secret vault. For hundreds of years, no one knew about it. We let it come to light again. Isn't that a good omen?"

The Dugu family has a secret vault, which is a top-secret storehouse for collecting the world's treasures. Only a very few people in the family know about it. Currently, only Dugu Lie and Dugu Ming know about it, and it is controlled by Dugu Ming. During the Kaihuang period of the Sui Dynasty, a fisherman fished out a large tripod from the Wei River. The head of the family, Dugu Luo, happened to get the news. He immediately bought it for a thousand strings of money and hid it in the secret vault. Even Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty at that time did not know about it.

At first, Dugu Luo thought it was the Yong Ding, one of the Nine Dings in the world. After several years of research, he determined that it was not the real Ding. The real Nine Dings were in Qin Shihuang's mausoleum. It was just the Yong Ding, one of the Nine Dings that Qin Shihuang ordered to be imitated.

But even so, it still has extremely high value, especially with an inscription on it, which says, "When the Yong Ding appears, the world will prosper." Therefore, it is very appropriate for the Yong Ding to appear as a good omen.

Dugu Ming also agreed, and the two brothers decided it would be better to get out of the Wei River.

...........
The reason why Zhang Li was able to become the left prime minister of the Tang Dynasty from a minor official was certainly related to his daughter, Empress Dowager Zhang, but more importantly, it was because he was able to judge the situation and adapt. When the eunuch party was powerful, he supported his daughter to cooperate with the eunuch party, thus allowing Prince Ding to ascend to the throne.

At the same time, he secretly contacted the powerful King of Qi, Li Ye, and even sent his eldest son to Chang'an to take up a post.

Therefore, when the eunuch party was defeated, he was the first to stand up and support the reign of Prince of Qi Li Ye, and asked his daughter Queen Dowager Zhang to announce Li Ye as regent in her capacity as queen dowager.

In return, Li Ye also appointed Zhang Li as the left prime minister and conferred him the title of Duke.

According to the agreement at that time, the transition period was two to three years, and the emperor should have abdicated next year at the earliest. However, the situation changed too quickly. In just about a year and a half, the time was ripe for Li Ye to ascend the throne, and his prestige reached its peak.

Zhang Li also knew that it was time for him to express his position. If he remained deaf and dumb at this time, he would violate the highest interests of the Regent, and he and his family would definitely not have a good ending.
While the Dugu brothers were secretly discussing the auspicious omen, Zhang Li also came to Wei Jiansu's official residence.

Wei Jiansu quickly invited him in, and the two of them sat down as host and guest, and asked the tea boy to serve tea.

Zhang Li said slowly: "I came here today to discuss privately with the Prime Minister about the current emperor's problem."

Zhang Li was very tactful. He did not mention the regent taking the throne at all, but only talked about the issue of the current emperor.

Wei Jiansu asked calmly, "Is he not doing well now?"

Zhang Li nodded. "It was his eighth birthday a few days ago. I went to visit him yesterday. I know what he was like when he was a child. I thought he would be better when he grew up, but in fact..."

Zhang Li smiled bitterly and said, "His condition is getting worse and worse. I stood in front of him for nearly half an hour, and he never looked up at me. He was still playing with his little wooden blocks. He has been playing with those wooden blocks since he was four years old, and he has been playing with them ever since."

Zhang Li sighed and said, "I think we should stop deceiving ourselves."

"What to do?"

Wei Jiansu asked, "Does Prime Minister Zhang have any suggestions?"

"I suggest that the Political Affairs Hall or even the Military and Political Affairs Council conduct a comprehensive assessment of the emperor, at least to let all officials understand the emperor's status, and then everyone can vote to decide, so that there will be no rumors and criticisms!"

Wei Jiansu secretly praised Zhang Li for his thoughtful consideration. First, the emperor abdicated and then considered who would succeed to the throne.

Instead of talking directly about the regent, which would lead to unfavorable criticism that the regent is trying to seize the throne.

Wait until the emperor abdicates before considering the issue of succession to the throne, which will save the regent a lot of unnecessary trouble.

Wei Jiansu smiled and said, "I agree with the assessment of the military and political discussions. When does Prime Minister Zhang think is a good time?"

"Let's do it tomorrow morning without further delay!"

"Does the Queen Mother agree?" Wei Jiansu asked anxiously.

Zhang Li nodded, "She agreed, and she also thought that this was more appropriate for her son."

(End of this chapter)