People in the early Tang Dynasty: I compete with Wu Zhao for the throne

Chapter 1099: A fall, the prime minister is vacant

Chang'an, Shengyefang.

It was snowing heavily, and Li Xuan came quickly from a distance on horseback.

As soon as he arrived at the mansion, he immediately got off his horse.

Laisui followed closely behind, and the two of them rushed into the house quickly and went straight to the bedroom in the backyard.

Li Xuan paused and looked at Wang Fulai in front of him with a surprised expression. He stood firm and quickly cupped his hands and said, "Wang Weng!"

"Your Majesty, you're so polite. I don't dare to call you Prince like that." Wang Fulai, who was nearly sixty years old, smiled and handed over his hand.

"Wang Weng." Li Xuan handed over his hand again and said seriously: "I have been taking care of Wang Weng for many years. Wang Weng is an elder to Xuan... By the way, why is Wang Weng here in person today?"

"Your Majesty is worried. Let me bring Dr. Li to see the situation." Wang Fulai looked solemn.

Li Xuan glanced at Lai Sui, who immediately bowed slightly to Wang Fulai, and then carefully entered the bedroom from the side.

"Lai Xiaolang invites the prince so quickly, but are you worried about what happened earlier?" Wang Fulai seemed to have other ideas.

Li Xuan sighed softly, cupped his hands and said: "Wang Weng, Wang Weng also knows how things are going. The year before last, Prime Minister Hao, Prime Minister Zhang last year, and Prime Minister Lai again this year, this method has been used by others. It seems to be endless, which makes people panic.”

Wang Fulai nodded slightly, and then said: "But this time, it may really have nothing to do with anything else."

"Oh, please give Wang Weng some advice." Li Xuan bowed deeply.

Wang Fulai helped Li Xuan up and whispered: "This time it was not caused by external factors, there was no ice water, and there were no potholes. It was just that Lai Xiang couldn't stand firm when he stood up, and then he fell."

"Isn't it poisoning or something?" Li Xuan bowed slightly and spoke in a low voice.

Laisui was also outside and was asked to go home. He did not expect that such a thing would happen at home.

I didn't understand the situation for a while, so I hurriedly found Li Xuan.

"Probably not." Wang Fulai shook his head and said, "Your Majesty also sends people to protect the prime ministers. The prime minister himself is also cautious, how can he be easily taken over by others."

"That's because I made a mistake." Li Xuan breathed a long sigh of relief, and then said with a wry smile: "Wang Weng, this is really scary. This happens every year."

Every year, prime ministers stumble, and they are all quite old.

This kind of thing was someone else's plan from the beginning. Now, everyone is already frightened, and it is normal for some of them to be confused.

"It won't happen again in the future." Wang Fulai shook his head calmly and said, "The person who did that kind of thing before is dead, and no one will dare to do it again in the future."

Li Xuan raised her eyebrows and looked at Wang Fuli. His words seemed to have other meanings.

With a "squeak" sound, the door rang at this moment, and Li Xuan and Wang Fulai turned around at the same time.

The imperial doctor Li Qianzong walked out of the room while thinking, followed by the people from Zhongshu She who came to Qingyuan, and Laisui took care of him in the room.

"Doctor Li, how is the situation?" Wang Fulai was the first to speak.

"General manager." Li Qianzong raised his head, looked at Wang Fulai, and said with a frown: "Lai Xiang's condition is not caused by external factors at all, but by internal factors. Years of physical fatigue, physical weakness, and an accident caused him to fall down. It's a fall, so if you just need to rest at home for a while, it should be fine."

Li Xuan's eyes flickered, and Lai Qingyuan didn't say much. They all knew that things were not that simple.

Laiheng is already seventy-two years old. Although he does not appear to be frail on weekdays, it is well known to everyone that he is old.

"I'll leave you with the prescription and prepare it carefully." Li Qianzong raised his head and looked at Lai Qingyuan.

Lai Qingyuan stretched out his hand and said, "Doctor Li, please come this way."

Wang Fulai's eyes flickered, he waved his fly whisk slightly towards Li Xuan, and then said: "The old servant is going back to the palace soon. If the prince is fine, please go home early."

"Yes!" Li Xuan bowed seriously.

Wang Fulai nodded slightly, then turned and walked towards the door.

Li Xuan followed up and personally sent Wang Fulai away.

The family is not prosperous.

Since Lai Huer was killed in Yangzhou, many children of the Lai family were implicated. In the end, only two brothers, Lai Heng and Laiji, were left in the Lai family.

But Laiji was involved in the controversy of deposing Wang Liwu, and finally died in a foreign country.

Now Laiheng is the prime minister and is responsible for the family, but his son died early, and only his grandson Laisui serves as a member of the Ministry of War.

Lai Ji has sons, Lai Jingye, who is now the governor of Hangzhou, and Lai Qingyuan, who is a member of Zhongshushe.

There were people at the top, middle and bottom, but it was just a little thin.

Now that Lai Heng has collapsed, for Lai Jia, almost half of his home has collapsed.

……

After gathering her thoughts, Li Xuan turned around and entered the bedroom.

Lai Heng was lying on the bed, looking a little dazed. Lai Sui held his grandfather's hand tightly, looking worried.

Li Xuan walked gently behind Lai Sui and patted his shoulder slightly.

Seeing Li Xuan, Laisui finally reacted: "Dalang, please help me quickly to see what the situation is like."

Lai Heng also came to his senses at this time and nodded gently to Li Xuan: "I'm sorry to bother you, Your Majesty."

"Don't worry, Mr. Lai, it's nothing serious." He said downstairs, sat down on the side, and then reached out to touch Lai Heng's pulse gate.

After a while, Li Xuan took back her hand and closed her eyes in meditation.

Laisui stood aside and looked at Li Xuan, feeling nervous. Lai Heng was relatively calm.

After a while, Li Xuan finally opened her eyes, then looked at Lai Heng solemnly, and said, "Please excuse me, Prime Minister. When spring comes next year, when the flowers bloom, go to Yangzhou and Hangzhou. The weather is mild and good for the body." benefit."

Hearing what Li Xuan said, Laisui immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

Whether he is prime minister or not is not that important. What is important is his grandfather's health.

Being able to go to Yangzhou and Hangzhou, at least his health is somewhat protected.

"Please resign." Lai Heng nodded slightly and said, "Now is the right time to resign..."

Li Xuan raised her eyes with a solemn expression.

He understood that even if he didn't say it, Lai Heng had this plan now.

Hearing Heng sighed softly and said, "It's just that if I don't exist, the structure of the court will be broken."

Li Xuan nodded in silence. This year, Li Boyi, the Minister of Rites, was resigning. It would be difficult for Lai Heng to support him. Two positions in the court suddenly became vacant, which was a bit troublesome.

"Actually, this is not a bad thing." Li Xuan raised his head slightly, looked at Lai Heng and said, "The reason why there is a slight turmoil in the affairs of the court now is because the court is like a pool of stagnant water. Now there are vacancies, and the living water is flowing. Tang is a good thing.”

Lai Heng pondered for a moment and said with emotion: "If Lai Jia can do the same, I'm afraid it will be a blessing."

"The Prime Minister has taken the initiative to resign. Your Majesty, all the princes in the government and the public will feel deeply grateful. In the future, my uncle has been the governor of Hangzhou for many years. Before that, he was the governor of Runzhou. After two or three years, he will be transferred back to Beijing. The temple, the prisons, and the ministers are all possible." Li Xuan looked at Lai Sui and comforted him gently.

Lai Heng must have figured these things out, but Lai Sui is afraid that he may not.

Laisui nodded slowly, and his thoughts began to move.

"If I am not in the capital, Sui'er is not suitable to stay in the capital." Lai Heng raised his head and looked at Li Xuan.

Li Xuan shook his head directly and said: "The northwest states are not suitable. There are too many dangers and insufficient achievements. If there is a chance, it is best to go to Youzhou."

Lai Heng nodded slightly and said softly: "Pingyang County Duke is now attacking Mobei. Success is inevitable, but the question is how long can the Monan tribes be stable after that?"

"It won't be long." Li Xuan sighed softly and said: "The northwest is okay. Although there is a war in Tubo, General Quan is now in the Shasu area, so stabilizing the situation is not a problem. In fact, the most dangerous ones are Yin and Sui. , Xia and other states in northern Shaanxi, which are closest to Chang'an."

"But there are tens of thousands of troops in Chang'an. Even if the prince leaves and Wenxi County Duke is here, there won't be any problems." Lai Heng thought about it and said: "So in the end, it is possible that Youzhou... uses a large army to cause chaos in northern Shaanxi. As a bait to sneak attack on Youzhou, the prince is indeed very sharp."

Lai Heng looked at Li Xuan in surprise and said, "No wonder Zuo Xiang said several times that the prince is most suitable to be the Minister of War. It is true."

"Although there is an opportunity, the risk is extremely high." Li Xuan turned to look at Lai Sui and said helplessly: "If the storm in Chang'an hadn't been too big, I'm afraid Xuan wouldn't have suggested that Brother Lai take the risk in Youzhou."

"It doesn't matter, Lai's son always fights for the country, no matter himself." Lai Heng waved his hand directly, and then said: "Besides, my Lai's family still has some prestige in Youzhou."

Li Xuan nodded lightly. Back then, he came to protect Yang Guangdong's expedition to Goguryeo, and came to Ji to protect Li Shimin's Eastern Expedition. Nowadays, Lai Heng also worked hard in the Eastern Expedition. He has many old friends and descendants in Youzhou, so it is not a problem to gain a foothold. .

"My grandson is willing to accept the order." Lai Sui bowed solemnly.

Lai Heng is going to Yangzhou and Hangzhou, and since Lai Jingye is there, he doesn't need to worry about anything.

He was only worried about what might happen, but he also knew that the elders in the family were more worried about his future.

"That settles the matter." Li Xuan raised her eyes and glanced outside, then took out a cyan porcelain bottle from her arms, placed it directly on Lai Heng's pillow, and whispered: "Other body maintenance medicines are used by Dr. Li That’s enough. This medicine, Xuan, is a last resort and should not be used lightly unless it is absolutely necessary.”

"Thank you so much, Your Majesty!" Lai Heng directly picked up the medicine bottle and said with a smile, "I heard that both Mr. Hao and Mr. Zhang have a bottle. Now it's my turn."

"You're welcome." Li Xuan stood up, cupped his hands and said, "It's getting late, so Xuan will leave first."

"I'll see the prince off." Laisui stood up.

……

Walking in the snow in the outer courtyard, Laisui said softly: "If we really go to Youzhou this time, I'm afraid I won't be able to keep an eye on the affairs of the Ministry of War."

"It doesn't matter." Li Xuan shook his head and said: "In the past, it was because the Duke of Wenxi County was away. Although the Duke of Pingyuan County was in charge, he had an unfair reputation and was easy to be manipulated. Now in Wenxi County Once the father comes back, nothing will happen to the Ministry of War, and he will even keep an eye on the Ministry of Household Affairs and the Ministry of Industry to escort money, food and weapons."

"Yes, yes, I almost forgot, Pei Shangshu has returned to Beijing." Laisui patted his forehead and finally felt relieved.

After calming down for a while, Li Xuan said: "Brother Lai, if you are going north to Youzhou this time, it is best to avoid Dingzhou, where the risk is the greatest. It is best to go to Zhuozhou or Zhenzhou."

"Where the risk is greatest, there will be the greatest reward." Lai Sui smiled and said, "Let's go to Dingzhou. Maybe we can really achieve something."

"In Zhuozhou and Zhenzhou, you can always prepare troops and reinforcements." Li Xuan looked at Lai Sui, who still shook his head. Li Xuan sighed and said, "Then before setting off, ask the Ministry of War to request Dingzhou. Increase the number of troops... No matter how many troops there are, at least the posture must be established, and now we can be safe and worry-free."

"it is good!"

……

Under the wind and snow, Li Xuan slowly walked towards the square gate.

At this time, a group of Qianniu Guards headed towards the mansion in front of them in the wind and snow, and finally knocked on the door and entered directly.

Li Xuan had also entered that mansion before, so he naturally knew who the owner of the mansion was.

The minister in charge of the province under Qianmen is now the prince's concubine, Zhang Wenguan.

Laisui fell ill, and before he left for his visit, the emperor had already arranged for a new person.

But Zhang Wenguan's health wasn't that good either.

So it's just temporary.

There is still competition for this prime minister.

(End of this chapter)