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

Chapter 1294: In the emperor’s old age, elixirs accompany him

In Penglai Hall, bright red curtains hang all around.

Empress Wu sat on the short couch and looked down at the secret report in her hand.

At this moment, familiar footsteps sounded. Empress Wu looked up and saw that the emperor had finally returned after a busy day.

Li Zhi walked to sit down next to Empress Wu, took a look at the secret report, and then said in surprise: "Has the King of Nanchang arrived in Tianshui?"

"Yes!" Empress Wu nodded, handed over the secret report, and said at the same time: "It happened to be a northeast wind, so it was faster."

Li Zhi took one look at it, put down the secret report, and then looked at Empress Wu and asked: "Meiniang, do you think who will be the best to take over if the King of Nanchang is transferred away from Tubo in five years?"

Empress Wu's face showed a hint of surprise, and then she said thoughtfully: "If possible, it would be better for Hei Te Changzhi. He is from Baekje, he is a surrendered general, and he is loyal enough to His Majesty... Why did Your Majesty suddenly ask about this? thing?"

"Today I was talking to the King of Nanchang about the affairs of Changzhou. He recommended Heijichang to be the governor of Changzhou. After he is transferred from Tubo, if there are changes in Tubo, he will be transferred to suppress him." Li Zhi raised his head. Looking at Empress Wu, he said: "It seems that he thinks that something will happen to Tubo after he is transferred?"

"Your Majesty is worried that the Silla Rebellion will happen again in Tubo, right?" Empress Wu took a cup of hot tea from the side and placed it in front of Li Zhi.

Li Zhi immediately understood the hidden meaning in Empress Wu's words, and said in disbelief: "Why, Mei Niang also thinks that something will happen to Tubo in the future? By the way, what you just said, if it is possible, that means you think it is impossible It is Hei Te Changzhi who succeeds the King of Nanchang, so who do you think it will be?"

Empress Wu suddenly fell silent, which was very rare for Empress Wu.

"Mei Niang, tell me." The emperor's face had darkened. It seemed that both Li Xuan and Empress Wu felt that the situation in the court in a few years would be out of control.

Empress Wu sighed softly and was about to speak. At this moment, a rush of footsteps sounded outside the palace, and Li Zhi's face suddenly darkened.

Immediately, a young chamberlain walked into the palace quickly, not daring to raise his head to look at the emperor's hesitant expression. He knelt down and knelt down on the ground, saying excitedly: "Your Majesty, please report to the Queen of Heaven. The East Palace reports that the Crown Princess is here again. Pregnant."

"What?" Li Zhi stared in disbelief. Empress Wu had already stood up and said with a smile: "I will go and take a look now."

Just as Empress Wu was about to leave, Li Zhi grabbed her wrist, his expression darkening.

Li Zhi looked up at Empress Wu and said, "Meiniang, you don't think that in five years, the Wei family will replace the King of Nanchang, do you?"

"This?" Empress Wu smiled sarcastically, then looked up and looked around, and shouted coldly: "Everyone, go down. If even one word of today's words spreads out, everyone will be killed with a stick."

"Here!" All the chamberlains, maids, and servants in the palace bowed in unison, and then carefully withdrew.

Empress Wu calmed down and sat down next to the emperor. Then she turned to look at the emperor and said: "Your Majesty, the King of Nanchang has excellent military tactics, but the most rare thing is that he has a deep understanding of people's hearts. Therefore, he is the most capable of opening up and stabilizing Tubo. Rest assured, and the most satisfying thing is that he can understand that he is only suitable to stay in Tubo for five years, and after five years, he will also apply to leave."

Li Zhi nodded with a solemn expression. Li Xuan could only stay in Tubo for five years. If he stayed longer, Tubo would easily become the Kingdom of Nanchang.

This was not allowed by the emperor, and Li Xuan was very satisfied with this, so he never planned to stay in Tubo for a long time.

"In the five years that King Nanchang was in Tubo, he stabilized people's hearts, suppressed rebellions, sorted out the land, and prospered commerce. Basically, he did his best. Therefore, after five years, Tubo will definitely be a prosperous new world." Empress Wu In his words, he was full of trust and appreciation for Li Xuan.

Li Zhi nodded calmly, and he naturally recognized this.

"But in five years." Empress Wu's face suddenly became serious, and she said seriously: "In five years, the position of Tubo will become a hot topic, and all the major families in the court, including you and me, will compete for it. When it comes to competing for that position, Black Teeth Changzhijie will be demoted, and he can't compete with others."

"Then I will also choose a minister who can stabilize the situation." Li Zhi's eyes turned cold. Even if he doesn't choose Hei Te Changzhi, he will choose someone who is capable enough to replace Li Xuan. As for any trouble.

"Your Majesty, there are very few people like this." Empress Wu shook her head slightly and said, "The reason why I and the King of Nanchang both think highly of Hei Te Changzhi is because he himself is a general. The only one he can choose is Your Majesty. But if it is someone else, unless they are someone like Di Renjie, it will be difficult for them not to be influenced by the outside world, especially from aristocratic families."

"It's a noble family." Li Zhi keenly captured the last two words of Empress Wu.

The aristocratic family was something that he and Empress Wu had been suppressing for so many years.

Empress Wu sighed softly and said: "Your Majesty, among the famous families in the world, the Lu family of Fanyang, the Zheng family of Xingyang, and the Wang family of Taiyuan have declined. The Cui family of Qinghe and the Li family of Zhaojun have a prime minister, the Xue family has a prime minister, and the Pei family will soon There will be a prime minister, the Liu family has declined, but Weishi, Weishi is now the crown prince."

Li Zhi fell silent, and after a long time, he said, "Who is really outstanding in the Wei family now?"

"The older generation includes Wei Beiji, the minister of justice, Wei Wen, the governor of Xuzhou, Wei Xuanzhen, the prince's father-in-law, the governor of Yuzhou. The middle generation includes Wei Siqian, the doctor in the right department, Wei Juyuan, the doctor in the Ministry of Rites, and Wei Hongmin, the prince's family commander." Empress Wu shook her head slightly and said: "As long as one person in the Wei family is the prime minister, there will be succession immediately."

Li Zhi gently pressed his eyebrows and said, "If you were to choose someone to succeed the King of Nanchang to govern Tubo, who would you choose?"

"Prince's family minister Wei Hongmin." Empress Wu softly spit out a name, and Li Zhi immediately sighed helplessly.

Empress Wu continued: "Wei Hongmin has been serving as the fourth-ranking crown prince for nearly a year and a half. After another five years, the King of Nanchang will have pulled out all the crises in Tubo, leaving only a dozen people who are stable and prosperous. If there is a state, then when the time comes, it will be very easy for the prince’s family to go and deal with it.”

"It looks easy." Li Zhi looked stunned for a moment, then sneered, but his face immediately turned gloomy.

At this moment, a trace of murderous intent really flashed through Li Zhi's mind, but it was just a trace, and then he annihilated himself.

Webster has now given birth to Li Xian's eldest son, and now she is just pregnant. Whether it is a daughter or a son, it is not easy to deal with it.

After a while, Li Zhicai said quietly: "In five years, before the King of Nanchang leaves Tubo, he will transfer Wei Hongmin to other places, such as Yuezhou, Xiangzhou, and Jizhou, to serve as a governor, so that they can stop causing trouble to Tubo. , after the King of Nanchang leaves office, let Hei Te Changzhi go... If that doesn't work, Di Renjie can go." "Yes!" Empress Wu nodded slightly.

Li Zhi couldn't help but sigh and said: "Did the King of Nanchang never teach Sanlang how to deal with his relatives?"

Empress Wu smiled and said nothing.

To be wary of your relatives, the best way is to edit "Han Shu" and "Hou Han Shu". Look at Li Xian who previously edited "Hou Han Shu". Li Xian still dare not touch "Han Shu". The reason was completely explained.

Li Xian didn't dare, and Li Xuan didn't dare even more.

"Your Majesty promoted Xue Yuanchao, Cui Zhiwen, and Pei Yan and others to become prime ministers in the future. Isn't the purpose to check and balance Webster in the future?" Empress Wu smiled, and then said: "There are also crown princes and concubines. In the future, at most, how many times will Saburo marry? Just a concubine."

"Let's start preparing. In the first month of next year, we will marry a girl from a noble family." Li Zhi looked at Empress Wu and said, "I will marry a girl from the Yang family. The queen will arrange this. It is best to find someone who is related to the queen by blood."

"I accept the decree." Empress Wu smiled and nodded.

Li Zhi took a breath and said: "Okay, no need to delay, let's go to the East Palace to have a look. Also, tell Sanlang and ask him to visit Gao more often."

"Yes!" Empress Wu bowed and said, "Then I will retire."

"Well!" Li Zhi watched Empress Wu leave, then stood up and sighed softly. He didn't know what Li Xuan and Empress Wu were worried about, but...

Li Zhi then sneered, walked to the depths of the bed, and then took out a jade pillow.

The jade pillow opened, and a porcelain bottle appeared in front of Li Zhi.

A dark red pill appeared in Li Zhi's hand, and he immediately put it into his mouth.

Soon, Li Zhi's eyes became sharp.

Turning around, Li Zhi was already processing official documents on the desk.

……

Changzhou Governor's Mansion, in the small pavilion in the backyard.

The stove with tea boiling above dispelled all the coldness. Li Xuan looked up at Yu Ze, who was reading the secret report, and asked in a low voice: "How is it?"

Yu Ze's brows furrowed. He looked up at Li Xuan and said, "Although Your Majesty is not in good health, this kind of thing is probably too ridiculous."

Li Xuan gently fiddled with the coals, and then said: "According to the secret report from the palace, His Majesty's legs have been hurting very frequently a few years ago. Who would uncle think of for such a thing?"

Yu Ze's fists clenched suddenly, and his breathing became heavy. He subconsciously avoided Li Xuan's eyes, and then whispered: "The late Emperor and Prince Cheng Qian."

"The imperial doctor will tell His Majesty the truth about this kind of thing. As for what His Majesty will do after knowing the truth, it is beyond our ability to guess." Li Xuan was still fiddling with the coals and said softly: "The so-called borrowing money Luck, although there are various theories in Taoism, it is nothing more than psychological induction, and then adding a few coincidences, which is the so-called fit, but this thing actually does not have much effect."

Based on Li Xuan's background, how much would he believe in the theory of luck for such a hard work?

If you don’t believe it, then you won’t be able to use it for anything.

If you believe it and feel that your luck is declining, then naturally everything will go wrong; when others see that you are unable to do anything, they will think that you have succeeded through luck, and when you are in a good mood, everything will naturally go smoothly.

This is the psychological effect.

Yu Ze threw the note into the furnace and watched it burn to ashes. Then he looked at Li Xuan and asked, "What if this matter succeeds?"

Li Xuan's hand couldn't help but pause slightly, and then said softly: "Luck is a two-way road. He can borrow my luck, and I can also borrow his luck."

Yu Ze looked at Li Xuan in disbelief, and then whispered: "That's the emperor."

"As long as the means are appropriate, then it just depends on who is strong and who is weak. His Majesty would have been the best in the world a few years ago, but now, if it is time to borrow some luck, how strong do you think he is?" Li Xuan said calmly. Looking at Yu Ze, he was gently tossing the coals in his hand. Just sitting there gave people a strong pressure.

Yu Ze didn't know what to say for a while.

"There is another thing." Li Xuan looked at Yu Ze and said, "Da Lang always feels that His Majesty is eyeing Uncle Yu?"

"Ah?" Yu Ze looked at Li Xuan in surprise.

Li Xuan sighed softly and said: "Uncle Yu wants to go one step further and become the governor of Changchang. I'm afraid it will be difficult for Your Majesty!"

　In July of the first year of Kaiyao (681), Tang Gaozong, who had always been opposed to taking elixirs, suddenly ordered people to pay tribute to "bait pills". This incident is recorded in Sun Simiao's "Essential Prescriptions for Emergencies."

　　
　
(End of this chapter)