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

Chapter 1280 The dispute between the prime ministers of the Tang Dynasty
On the banks of the Luoshui River, sails are flying like shuttles.

Li Xuan was wearing a black robe with gold silk, and a black sheathed eight-sided Han sword hanging from her waist. She was calm and solemn, with cold eyes.

The coolies, stewards, and even the officials who were walking back and forth on the dock stayed far away and did not dare to approach at all.

More than a dozen guards in black, patternless robes directly separated the inside from the outside.

Further away, a group of Jinwu cavalry patrolled back and forth.

To the east, an official ship came slowly, with a large flag with the word "Pei" hanging high on it.

Dozens of officials from the Ministry of Justice stood on it, holding the hilts of their swords and guarding all sides.

The official ship slowly stopped at the dock, the planks were put down, and Li Xuan walked directly onto the deck.

Pei Yan was already standing on the deck. When he saw Li Xuan, he was the first to hand over his hand: "Pei Yan has met the prince."

"Uncle is embarrassing my nephew." Li Xuan returned the favor seriously, and then looked at the exhausted Pei Yan: "I shouldn't have disturbed my uncle, but in fact, someone entrusted me, so my nephew had to come up and say a few words."

"Your Majesty, you're welcome. Please come inside." Pei Yan asked Li Xuan to enter the inner cabin.

"Okay!" Li Xuan nodded, and then entered the inner cabin in full view of everyone.

……

The interior furnishings were not luxurious. Li Xuan took the initiative to walk to the table on the left and said, "Uncle, please sit down."

"Your Majesty is polite, then Pei is not polite." Pei Yan nodded, then walked to the short couch above and sat down. Then he looked at Li Xuan who was sitting down and said, "Pei thought that someone would come. But I never thought it would be the prince."

Li Xuan smiled and said: "My nephew has just returned to Chang'an not long ago. I didn't want to get involved in these things, but His Highness the Crown Prince asked me to do it, so I have to come."

Pei Yan immediately felt Li Xuan's embarrassment. Indeed, with Li Xian there, Li Xuan couldn't refuse.

"Please tell me the details, Your Majesty." Pei Yan looked straight at Li Xuan, waiting for him to speak.

Li Xuan sat down and then said seriously: "As Dong Gong said, what Uncle Shi did in Xuzhou this time was a bit heavy-handed. I wonder if it can be restrained a little. Now that the New Year is approaching, many people don't want any trouble in Chang'an."

People from the Liu family in Pengcheng have already found Chang'an, and may even have found Liu Shenli. Next, the two of them may have a quarrel in the court.

The New Year is approaching. Many people hope to spend the New Year peacefully and do not want to cause more troubles.

"I guess I can't hide this excuse from the prince." Pei Yan raised his eyes and looked at Li Xuan with a deep look.

Li Xuan nodded calmly: "I'm afraid that my uncle's actions in Xuzhou are in line with His Majesty's wishes. It is not difficult to enter the Political Affairs Hall in this way. Even the chief officials of the three provinces are expected. Now it seems that my uncle is going to enter. Zhongshu and Which province has Shangshu lost?"

"It seems that the prince has seen clearly that Xue Yuanchao does not want Pei to enter Zhongshu Province." A sneer flashed at the corner of Pei Yan's mouth.

When Li Xuan sent a message to meet him, Pei Yan had already guessed whose idea was behind it.

His entry into the political affairs hall this time threatens not Liu Rengui, Hao Chujun and his group of veterans, nor Li Yiyan, Cui Zhiwen and their group of third-rank Tongzhongshu disciples, nor Liu Shenli and Li Jingxuan, who have already established themselves. The only one he really threatened was Xue Yuanchao.

"What my uncle is doing in Xuzhou, Dong Gong believes that what he is doing will inevitably cause trouble with Pengcheng County Public Security Bureau, and your relatives will make the situation in Menxia Province more complicated. Therefore, I am afraid that uncle will be able to enter after this time. There is only Zhongshu Province, and Prime Minister Xue doesn't want to work with his uncle for some unknown reason, so he asked Xuan to persuade his uncle to stop his work in Xuzhou, ease the relationship with the Duke of Pengcheng County, and then join him as a servant."

Li Xuan said these words calmly. Pei Yan was so smart that he had already grasped the subtext of Li Xuan's words.

"East Palace?" Pei Yan smiled, looked at Li Xuan with squinted eyes and said, "The prince seems to have other ideas."

Li Xuan always used words like Dong Gong, Xue Xiang, and Prince. He never used the words himself, so naturally he had other ideas.

"Xuan thinks that there is no need for uncle to stop in Xuzhou." Li Xuan calmed down and said calmly: "It's not just Xuzhou. We are going east to Huaizhou and Yangzhou. Uncle might as well be more ruthless and kill those who deserve to be killed." Exile is exile, there is no need to stop.”

Pei Yan's expression suddenly became solemn. He thought Li Xuan would also persuade him, but he didn't expect that Li Xuan directly asked him to kill him.

……

The official ship was moving forward slowly, along the Luo River and in Luoyang City.

Pei Yan lowered his eyes slightly, and after a long time, he seemed to understand: "If Pei remembers it well, the matter of tracing the hidden fields was originally proposed by the prince."

Li Xuan smiled and said calmly: "Inspecting the hidden fields and increasing taxes is what your Majesty wants to see. Since it is what your Majesty wants to see, no one can stop it."

Pei Yan suddenly fell silent. He had heard someone say that Li Xuan was extremely loyal to the emperor, and now it seemed that this statement was true.

After pondering for a while, Pei Yan continued to ask: "Isn't the prince worried that Pei will compete with Xue Xiang when he is transferred to Zhongshu Province?"

Li Xuan raised her head, looked at Pei Yan calmly, and said, "Uncle can't go to Zhongshu Province."

"Why?" Pei Yan was immediately surprised. Xue Yuanchao and everyone in the East Palace had previously believed that Pei Yan would probably be transferred to Zhongshu Ling. Why was Li Xuan so insistent that Pei Yan would not be transferred to Zhongshu Ling?

"Things involving my uncle and Duke Pengcheng are insignificant in your Majesty's eyes. If Your Majesty wants your uncle to go to Zhongshu Province, then even Prime Minister Xue can't stop him. However, Your Majesty probably just wants your uncle to go to Menxia Province, that's all." Li Xuan's voice was calm and steady, but extremely firm.

Although when it comes to appointing a prime minister, the emperor will seek the opinions of the staff and other prime ministers, but if the emperor makes a decision, everyone can only accept it.

Pei Yan fell silent, clasping his hands together and narrowing his eyes.

Li Xuan was immediately surprised and asked: "Uncle, don't you really want to be appointed as the Secretary of the Central Committee?"

Pei Yan smiled slightly, but the smile was a little forced. Li Xuan was suddenly a little surprised. He looked deeply at Pei Yan, thought about it for a while, and suddenly understood.

Pei Yan, Xue Yuanchao.

Li Xuan himself had almost reached the point just now, but he diverted his words without breaking the window.

Xue Yuanchao didn't want Pei Yan to enter Zhongshu Province. Li Xuan once thought about the reason. Maybe Xue Yuanchao was afraid that Pei Yan would be too cruel. Maybe someone from Xuzhou or somewhere was begging for Pei Yan, but now it seems that Pei Yan is real. Interested in entering Zhongshu Province.

Comparing the two phases, the situation is self-evident.

Prime Minister of the Tang Dynasty.

Liu Rengui said last year that he was very likely to become an official. So after Liu Rengui becomes an official, who will be the minister Zuopushe?

In today's situation, there may be basically only two people, Li Jingxuan and Liu Shenli, who entered the political hall in the same batch.

Then after the two of them, there are Xue Yuanchao and Pei Yan.

Although Xue Yuanchao was a close confidant of the emperor and had a far-reaching reputation in the literary world, he was actually not as good as Pei Yan in terms of political performance.

As a result, Pei Yan's decisive and resolute handling of the Xuzhou incident won the emperor's joy.

If Pei Yan can seize the opportunity this time and take the position of Zhongshu Ling, he will be able to compete with Xue Yuanchao for the position of Shangshu Zuopushe in the future.

Xue Yuanchao did not dare to let Pei Yan surpass him. Once Pei Yan was allowed to sit in the position of Shangshu Zuopushe, Xue Yuanchao would not have to think about it for at least ten years.

As for the future, there is no chance that someone new will emerge, and Xue Yuanchao may never have a chance.

Look at now, Liu Rengui is a minister and a servant, Hao Chujun, Dai Zhide, Zhao Renben and other people have been suppressed to death.

Xue Yuanchao understood Pei Yan's purpose better than Li Xuan. Therefore, when Pei Yan wanted to enter Zhongshu Province, Xue Yuanchao tried every means to stop him.

……

Li Xuan couldn't help but feel a little funny, and then he shook his head slightly and said: "What my uncle said is indeed reasonable, but I'm afraid your Majesty really wants my uncle to go to the province, not for anything else, but for the sake of the prince."

Pei Yan raised his eyebrows and looked at Li Xuan in surprise.

Li Xuan said softly: "No matter what, my uncle must give the prince a chance to promote his uncle."

When Pei Yan heard this, a figure flashed in his mind.

Li Ji.

In the twenty-third year of Zhenguan, the late Emperor Taizong was seriously ill. Li Ji, who was originally appointed as Prince Zhan Shi and was a third-rank disciple of Zhongshu, was suddenly demoted to the governor of Diezhou.

In the same year, Emperor Taizong died of illness. Li Zhi ascended the throne and summoned Li Ji to the court. He was then appointed governor of Luozhou, Tong Zhongshu's subordinate Ping Zhangshi, and the following year he was promoted to Shangshu Zuopushe.

Pei Yan immediately understood that if he insisted on fighting with Xue Yuanchao this time, in the future, if Li Zhi became seriously ill, he might follow the example of the late emperor and demote him out of the court first, and then transfer him back.

Pei Yan couldn't guarantee that he had Li Ji's ability. After being demoted as the governor of Diezhou, he could still be transferred back to be the governor of Luozhou and make peace with Zhongshu, let alone be promoted to minister Zuopushe the following year.

He didn't dare to gamble on this kind of thing.

If the emperor really does this, Pei Yan can only accept it. As for the future, once he leaves the center, the subsequent development will not be in his hands.

In this case, it would be better for Pei Yan to serve as a servant honestly and give the prince a chance to promote him.

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Pei Yan raised his head and raised his hands to Li Xuan: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for reminding me."

"Uncle, you're welcome." Li Xuan bowed and returned the courtesy, and then said: "My uncle's affairs in Xuzhou have little to do with the DPRK and China, but for the sake of the overall situation, I still ask my uncle to temporarily accept the honor and disgrace. This matter needs to be dealt with more seriously. If there are some If you can’t bear it, then send some of them to the Luoxue Dao Army, and Xuan will train them personally.”

Looking at Li Xuan's cold face, Pei Yan immediately knew that Li Xuan had no intention of letting this matter go easily.

He originally proposed the inventory of hidden fields, and the fundamental purpose was to collect taxes from the court. How could he really ask Pei Yan to stop because of Xue Yuanchao's matter.

"Pei knows what to do." Pei Yan nodded slightly.

Li Xuan stood up, cupped his hands and said, "If that's the case, then Xuan will leave. Today, Tong'er is still visiting Princess Dai at the Prince's Mansion in Linzi County, and Xuan will take Tong'er back to her home."

Pei Yan immediately laughed. Pei Shitong is still Li Xuan's concubine, and he and Li Xuan are not outsiders.

Not to mention, there is also the relationship between Prince Linzi and Concubine Pei.

"In that case, Pei will not send the prince off." Pei Yan stood up, cupped his hands and said: "In that case, please also ask the prince to apologize to the concubine on behalf of Pei. The court affairs are important, and Pei will come to visit the concubine in a year."

"Xuan said goodbye." Li Xuan handed over her hands and was about to leave.

At this time, Pei Yan suddenly said: "There is something that the prince needs to be careful about. If the prince really persuades Pei to stop the Xuzhou matter this time, it may be harmful to the prince's reputation."

Li Xuan turned around and looked deeply at Pei Yan.

(End of this chapter)