Tibet.

Chapter 1299 Pei Old Fox

In the afternoon, Pei Zunqing returned to the mansion. He sat in the study for a while, then walked to the door and said to the tea boy, "Go and find the third young master quickly!"

The tea boy ran away, and soon, Pei Zunqing's third son Pei Li hurried over.

Pei Zunqing has three sons. The eldest and second sons are both serving as officials outside. The eldest son Pei Jian is appointed as the governor of Bianzhou, and the second son Pei Yao has just been promoted to the chief officer of Qingzhou. Currently, the third son Pei Li is by his father's side, managing the family business and taking care of his father at the same time.

"Father is looking for me?"

Pei Zunqing nodded, "Sit down!"

Pei Li sat on the ground opposite his father. Pei Zunqing asked slowly, "How many slaves does our Pei family have in Chang'an at present?"

"There are about 140 people!"

"What about inside Fangzhou Manor?"

"There are more than 300 people in Fangzhou Manor!"

Pei Zunqing nodded and said, "Starting from tomorrow, all slaves will be released within ten days and converted to civilians."

"Ah! Father, the loss will be great."

Pei Zunqing's face sank, "Don't I know there will be losses?"

Pei Li was so frightened that he quickly lowered his head and said, "I know I'm wrong!"

Pei Zunqing glared at his son and ordered, "First, release all the slaves in Chang'an tomorrow, and then you rush to the manor to release the slaves. After they become civilians, sign a new contract with them and pay them according to the market price. Don't be mean to them. Do you understand?"

"I'll arrange it tomorrow!"

Pei Zunqing then calmed down and said, "The court is about to implement a decree to abolish slavery. Instead of being passive, it is better to take the initiative to abolish slavery and make a high-profile gesture. But this is top secret information, and even the court ministers don't know about it. You are not allowed to tell me!"

"My child understands!"

Pei Zunqing nodded and said, "I will also write a letter to the Hedong family, asking the Hedong Pei family to start abolishing slavery. The Wei family has already taken the lead, and the Pei family cannot be late to the party!"

The third son Pei Li left, and Pei Zunqing paced back and forth in the study with his hands behind his back. He had a hunch that once the regent ascended the throne, the first person to be dealt with would be Li Xian. The regent's current tolerance was just the last bit of dignity for the royal family.

Pei Zunqing had also been immersed in officialdom for decades. How could he not understand the general situation? Li Xian constantly criticized Li Ye for his illegitimate position in front of him, believing that he was not qualified to be the heir to the throne of the Tang Dynasty. He even hinted that Li Ye had usurped the throne and wanted to bring him into Li Yu's support list.

Although Pei Zunqing had a good personal relationship with Li Xian, he would never be vague when it came to matters of principle. At the critical moment, Pei Zunqing visited Li Dai and revealed Li Yu's intentions, allowing Li Dai to alert his son who had returned from Youzhou in Weinan County.

Although Pei Zunqing is the princess's maternal grandfather, he has never used this relationship. First, the princess does not accept him as her grandfather, and second, he feels that Li Ye is still a little wary of his maternal relatives. Allowing the Dugu family to go overseas to establish a country is, to a certain extent, actually weakening the Dugu family. Even if some members of the Dugu family remain in the Tang Dynasty in the future, their strength will be greatly weakened. The same is true for other Guanlong families.

Because the Guanlong nobles had made great contributions to the funding of the Helong Army, it was difficult to seize their wealth openly. So this method of transferring wealth not only satisfied the Guanlong nobles' dream of establishing a country, but also greatly weakened the influence of the Guanlong nobles in the Tang Dynasty, making room for the support of new nobles. It was like killing two birds with one stone.

Pei Zunqing had to admire Li Ye's skills. In this way, he quietly weakened the Guanlong nobles who had dominated the Northern Zhou, Sui and Tang dynasties for nearly two hundred years.

This was actually a clear strategy. The Guanlong nobles knew that this was a big pit that would weaken their strength, and they were willing to jump in. It was the temptation of establishing a country that they could not resist.

What about yourself?

Pei Zunqing had to consider his own career. The reason why he was able to enter the government hall was that on the one hand he was the prime minister during the reign of the previous emperor, and on the other hand he represented the Hedong family, and the regent needed a balance, just like using Li Xian, who represented the royal family, to enter the cabinet.

But once the Regent ascends the throne, this balance will no longer be important and the Council of State will inevitably make adjustments.

There is no doubt that Li Xian will be eliminated. He ranks first among Li Yu's supporters. It is not easy for the Regent to tolerate him until now.

Secondly, Wei Jiansu is likely to retire. Wei Jiansu is old and in poor health. Moreover, he has completed his mission by pushing the regent to the throne, so he can retire.

What Pei Zunqing was concerned about was that after Wei Jiansu retired, the position of prime minister would be vacant. Excluding Li Xian and Wei Jiansu, one of the seven people would definitely take the position.

Zhang Li is unlikely to succeed as he does not have enough qualifications and he was able to become the Left Prime Minister only because of Empress Dowager Zhang. This is his peak and he can probably maintain this position for another term. The Regent will not do it so obviously, but it will definitely not be his turn to become the Right Prime Minister.

Dugu Lie is also out of the question, as he is not capable enough and can only serve as the Minister of War for one more term. Duan Xueshi is also out of the question, as he is also not qualified enough. Liu Yan has always been ranked behind Li Mi, and the Regent will not mess up this order.

The last three people left are himself, Li Mi and Xiao Hua. All three are possible. I wonder who the Regent will promote to replace Wei Jiansu in the end?

Pei Zunqing paced back and forth with worry. He didn't know if he could seize this opportunity.

Li Ye returned to Xingqing Palace at night. Three days later, on the first day of December, they would move to Daming Palace, one month in advance.

When moving into the Daming Palace, first of all, the number of palace maids will increase a lot, as will the number of female guards. Then, there will be eunuchs as the chief managers of the inner palace. Of course, it will not be as exaggerated as that of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, but the number will definitely be more than it is now.

As for whether the number of concubines will be increased, Li Ye has not given much thought to it. Maybe he will, maybe he won’t.

But they certainly would not live far apart like other emperors, but would still be concentrated in a relatively centralized area.

Li Ye returned to his study and sat down. His wife Dugu Xinyue came in holding a teacup.

"We are going to the Daming Palace today!" Dugu Xinyue put down the teacup and said with a smile.

"Well, do you have a choice?"

Dugu Xinyue nodded, "I am more familiar with Daming Palace. After all, I have lived in the palace for ten years. I must have chosen Longshouyuan, south of Taiye Lake. I also lived there before."

Li Ye nodded happily. He meant the same thing. The whole family would live on Longshouyuan.

"Is Yuhuan depressed?" Li Ye asked again.

Dugu Xinyue laughed, "Then my husband underestimated her. She has come out of it a long time ago. She is very happy today and has been guiding Qingyu all the way, explaining the various layouts of the palace to her. She chose the Yutang Palace, and I chose the Penglai Palace."

Li Ye hesitated for a moment and asked again: "Is there anyone in the palace who knows her?"

Dugu Xinyue shook her head. "The current palace maids and eunuchs all came from Luoyang. The palace maids and eunuchs in Chang'an all ran away when An Lushan came. And the people around us are all used now, including Wu Guanjiapo, who was brought over to serve as the deputy chief of the inner palace. Gongsun Da Niang and her disciples live in Mingde Temple. I want Agu to live in Sanqing Hall. I am trying to persuade her."

Li Ye nodded, "Don't force her. She is free to come and go. She can go wherever she wants."

At this time, Dugu Xinyue hesitated and said, "In the afternoon, my stepmother Wang came to see me."

"Did your father ask her to come?"

Dugu Xinyue's pretty face turned slightly red, "How did my husband know?"

Li Ye smiled and said, "The abolition of slavery was discussed in the Political Affairs Hall today. I guess your father is under a lot of pressure."

"She didn't mention the abolition of slavery, but just said that her father was confused about the future development direction of the Dugu family."

"Then what do you say?"

Dugu Xinyue said noncommittally: "I told her that this is not something she should consider. I know she is here to bring a message, but I don't want to care about it."

Li Ye understood his wife. She still cared about the future of the Dugu family. If she really didn't want to deal with this matter, she wouldn't have told him.

It doesn’t really matter. It’s human nature to care about your parents and family.

Li Ye hesitated for a moment and asked, "Is Taiwei's mother still in the mansion?"

"Still here. Probably leaving tomorrow."

Li Ye smiled and said, "You ask Taiwei to tell her mother that I will invite her father to have tea at Wude Restaurant at noon the day after tomorrow!"

Li Ye didn't want to talk to Dugu Lie, but he was willing to talk to Dugu Ming.

(End of this chapter)