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

Chapter 1148: Conspiracy, Chengsi is too incompetent

In the Zichen Hall, Empress Wu was reviewing memorials alone.

Light footsteps approached.

Immediately, Su Liangsi's voice sounded: "Su Liangsi, commander of the secret guards, comes to see the Queen of Heaven."

Empress Wu did not raise her head and asked directly: "Has Sanlang gone to see the King of Nanchang?"

"Yes!" Su Liangsi held up his hands and said, "His Royal Highness asked the King of Nanchang for some soothing medicine. His concubine is almost nine months pregnant, and His Highness has been a little uneasy recently."

"What else did they say?" Empress Wu asked next.

"After His Royal Highness returned to the palace, people in the palace began to go out secretly to spread some things about His Royal Highness's early years." Su Liangsi was full of vigilance and continued: "The Nanchang Palace also sent people to spread the rumor that it was the Nanchang King who poisoned the prince. I blame the prince for not listening to advice."

"There have been a lot less rumors about me recently." Empress Wu finally raised her head and looked at Su Liangsi.

Su Liangsi immediately handed over his hand and said, "I have neglected my duty."

At first, there were rumors in Luoyang, Chang'an, that Empress Wu was plotting to kill the prince, but with the actions of the secret guards, the number of people spreading rumors decreased.

But soon, rumors about the King of England and the King of Nanchang appeared.

Later, with the intervention of the Prince of England and the Prince of Nanchang, there were a lot less rumors about Empress Wu, and most of them were about the King of England and the Prince of Nanchang.

As long as the contents here are carefully considered, coupled with the actions of the Nanchang Palace and the Ying Palace, a smart person will immediately understand that this is Li Xian trying to attract the attention of Empress Wu.

"Erlang was poisoned, how is the investigation going at your place?" Empress Wu suddenly changed the topic.

"Reporting to the Queen of Heaven, I have found out that he is a guard from Zuo Qianniu Guard. After the handover in the East Palace, he left the East Palace, and his family has completely disappeared." Su Liangsi handed over seriously.

"Qianniuwei needs to be clean, how can he be taken advantage of?" Empress Wu's eyes became cold.

"He was born in Hebei, and his hometown is very close to the Turks. When the secret guards found Hebei, there was no one in his hometown." Su Liangsi took out a memorial from his sleeve and handed it over.

After Empress Wu took it, she glanced briefly and said, "It's probably not the Turks. It's impossible for the Turks to go so deep into the East Palace. It's probably the Demon Cult."

"Yes!" Su Liangsi bowed and said, "I am currently investigating the Demon Cult's infiltration of Qianniu Guard, and I have already got some clues."

"Yes!" Empress Wu nodded, and then said: "Who first released the news about King Nanchang's murder of the prince?"

Su Liangsi paused slightly, carefully cupped his hands and said: "The secret guard inspected it, and it seems that it has something to do with Duke Zhou."

"Chengsi?" Empress Wu frowned tightly, and she asked: "Then the rumors about Saburo were also spread by him?"

The atmosphere in the hall was a bit cold, and Empress Wu's annoyance instantly spread throughout the hall.

Both Li Xian and Li Xuan knew that they should help Empress Wu attract attention and reduce the damage of rumors. At this time, Wu Chengsi thought of attacking Li Xian.

No wonder Empress Wu was angry.

……

Su Liangsi bowed and said, "When I was checking the rumors about the King of England, I found out the arrangements made by the Duke of Zhou's government for the King of Nanchang."

Empress Wu's breath suddenly stopped, her face became sullen, she couldn't help but shook her head and said, "This kid Chengsi is so incompetent."

Su Liangsi lowered his body and said nothing.

Empress Wu raised her head, looked at Su Liangsi, and then asked: "What about you, are you just letting rumors spread?"

"This is good for the Queen." Su Liangsi told the truth.

"But it is not good for the King of Nanchang." Empress Wu gave Su Liangsi a cold look, and then a memorial was thrown at Su Liangsi.

Su Liangsi caught it keenly and opened it subconsciously, but when he saw the content clearly, he couldn't help but widen his eyes.

"You read that right. The King of Nanchang recommended you to be the Sima of Yongzhou Prefecture." Empress Wu took a deep breath and said, "I think they also said yesterday that after Sanlang becomes the crown prince, you will be included in the East Palace post. After all, you are a hero. The old man from the palace.”

"The Queen of Heaven, I..." Su Liangsi became a little anxious and quickly handed over his hand.

Empress Wu waved her hand directly and said: "No need to say more, I originally planned to let you return to the British Palace. You can handle this matter yourself. You also have to take on the role of secret guard."

"Here!" Su Liangsi calmed down instantly.

The queen asked him to return to the British Palace, and he naturally had nothing to say.

The key is that he also serves as a secret guard. In fact, he is the Queen's spy next to the King of England.

Once the King of England becomes the Crown Prince, the Queen will also be able to know everything around the Crown Prince.

Moreover, only by returning to the British Palace can there be other room for development.

After all, the King of England has a cowardly character and lacks ability. This makes it easier for him to be suppressed by the queen, but not easy to be deposed.

In this way, as long as you stay in the East Palace, it will be easier to enter the center and become the prime minister.

Empress Wu continued: "Have you found the bug in the East Palace?"

Su Liangsi immediately became solemn, raised his hands and said: "Reporting to the Queen of Heaven, Chang'an and Luoyang, I almost went to heaven and earth, but still no trace of that man was found. He was hidden very deep."

Empress Wu shook her head and said, "He must be there, find him."

"Here!" Su Liangsi immediately bowed.

Empress Wu gently knocked on the table and said, "After returning to the Prince's Palace, I looked at some of the Wei family members and found that the Wei family is not the Fang family."

"I accept the decree." Su Liangsi handed over his hand seriously.

Empress Wu waved her hand and said, "Go." "Here!" Su Liangsi carefully stepped out and placed the memorial that Empress Wu had thrown at him on the ground.

Shangguan Wan'er picked up the memorial from the ground and carefully placed it on the imperial desk.

"Wan'er!" Empress Wu suddenly spoke, and Shangguan Wan'er immediately bowed: "My servant is here."

Empress Wu raised her head, looked at the main hall in front of her, frowned, and asked, "What do you think of Chengsi as a person?"

Shangguan Wan'er frowned slightly and Fu Shen said, "I don't have much contact with Duke Zhou."

"As long as you don't talk much about it." Empress Wu waved her hand. She turned to look at Shangguan Wan'er, seeming to attach great importance to Shangguan Wan'er's opinion.

Shangguan Wan'er cupped her hands, and then said thoughtfully: "I feel that although Zhou Guogong is talented, he is somewhat lenient on the outside and taboo on the inside, but he often has trouble grasping the overall situation."

Empress Wu nodded slightly, then sighed and said: "Filial filial piety, filial piety, filial piety, the word filial piety has troubled many men in the world."

……

The Penglai Hall is surrounded by yellow curtains and the light is soft.

Li Zhi lay on the bed and closed his eyes to rest.

There are more than a dozen red-covered memorials on the table on one side.

Slight footsteps sounded outside the palace. Li Zhi did not open his eyes, but his voice already sounded: "What's the matter, Mei Niang, are you tired from your court duties today?"

Empress Wu did not speak, took off her shoes, lay down next to Li Zhi, and then said softly: "I really hope for Chengsi, but he is getting worse and worse at what he does. He is even not as good as Saburo."

Li Zhi held Empress Wu's wrist, shook his head, and said softly: "Sanlang is our flesh and blood after all, and he is born with filial piety, especially Twenty-seventh Lang, who pays even more attention to this."

"Yes!" Empress Wu immediately said with some humor: "Your Majesty, the Twenty-Seventh Lang knew that Su Liangsi was a concubine, but he still wanted to transfer him to the British Prince's Palace."

"He is asking you to look at Sanlang." Li Zhi raised his head, as if he had seen through Li Xuan's plan at a glance, and said: "Erlang is like this. He mistakenly believes what others say, which ultimately leads to unexpected disasters. There are people watching you around Sanlang." By doing so, we can also prevent Sanlang from following the same path as Erlang."

After a slight pause, Li Zhi said: "Twenty-seventh Lang is a qualified clan member after all, and he has an extremely clear view of the affairs of the government and the public."

Empress Wu nodded slightly. She knew that Li Xuan viewed many things from the perspective of the clan.

Especially the prince and the aristocratic family.

When Li Xian was asked to check the land, there was a plan to draw a clear line between him and the family. But unfortunately, although Li Xian did a good job at the beginning, he began to be perfunctory in the later advancement. This is what Li Zhi was doing. His immediate cause.

"I still remember that when he first entered the court, he once said that when he traveled around the country, he often saw aristocratic families colluding with officials and embezzling people's property." Empress Wu recalled the situation when she first met Li Xuan in the early years, with a sigh on her face.

Li Zhi nodded and said, "That's why we have today's methods of sorting out fields and taxation. As long as we keep an eye on the total amount of taxes and people's harvests, we can determine whether local officials are wise and foolish, and the local governance situation is like looking at the lines on the palm of a hand. "

In fact, the imperial court has statistical comparisons of taxes from various states every year, but many times the tax reduction is regarded as a natural disaster or a man-made disaster.

After all, local state and county officials can handle these matters appropriately.

There are countless ways to deal with flash floods, droughts, and bandits.

In the past, although the imperial court was aware of the fishy nature of the matter, it was mostly due to the people not asking officials to investigate. However, this time Li Xian directly found out the millions of acres of hidden land from the comparison of tax records. He was as smart as the Empress Wu and immediately began to sort out the strategies.

Many local situations have clearly appeared before our eyes.

But seeing it doesn't mean it can be solved. More often than not, fine adjustments are still needed, and force cannot be achieved.

Unless Empress Wu is ready to depose the prince again.

"No matter what, if we want to launch troops against the Turks this year and next, at least there will be enough food and grass." A trace of joy appeared on Empress Wu's face.

In fact, what she is most worried about is the military conquest, especially one that consumes a lot of money and yields very little profit.

Such was the case with the Turkic wars.

"Well!" Li Zhi raised his head, looked at the golden dragon in the center of the hall above, and said softly: "I asked Twenty-seventh Lang if he was willing to stay in the court. He said that he would obey orders, but he wanted to have some leisure time. A bit of a job.”

"Twenty-seventh Lang is a smart man, he knows what is a long-term strategy and what is a contingency." Empress Wu nodded slightly, agreeing with Li Xuan's view.

Li Zhi glanced at Empress Wu in surprise, and then said calmly: "Since it is Chang Ce, there is no need to rush to get him back."

"Yes!" Empress Wu smiled, her eyes twinkling, but a hint of faintness flashed deep in her eyes.

She spoke for Li Xuan this time because she sensitively captured some of Li Xuan's attitudes and tendencies in his actions.

……

"By the way, Your Majesty, it's time to deal with the matter in Yongzhou." Empress Wu remembered something and reminded in a low voice.

"Yes, the imperial court will be held in a few days. The matter in Yongzhou will be settled. Later, Mei Niang will issue the imperial edict that Sanlang will be appointed as the shepherd of Yongzhou." After the emperor finished speaking, he asked: "How is Erlang's situation? ?”

"Erlang is accompanying the Fang family in the East Palace." Empress Wu paused slightly and said, "After three days, let them move to the West Neiyuan."

"Yes!" Li Zhi nodded, and then said: "I heard that Sanlang took a lot of anti-fetal medicine from Twenty-seventh Lang. Let him send some to Erlang."

"Yes!" Empress Wu responded, and then asked: "What about Princess Ying?"

"Just once a day."

"it is good!"

(End of this chapter)