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

Chapter 1503: Ready to Order
Wang Fulai walked forward calmly and placed the rosewood box in his hand steadily in front of Pei Yan.

Pei Yan's breathing suddenly became heavy, his eyes stared straight ahead, and his hand subconsciously stretched forward, trying to grab the wooden box containing the imperial edict for regent.

But the moment he stretched out his hand, as if he understood something, he retracted his hand in an instant.

Instantly, as if realizing something was wrong, Pei Yan reached out his hand and knelt heavily on the ground: "Your Majesty, although I... I have some talent, I have a heavy responsibility to assist in the administration. The talents of the left prime minister, Xue Xiang, Duke of Pengcheng, Wang Xiang, King Peng, and the Imperial Censor are not inferior to mine. I beg you to appoint a few more people to assist in the administration."

The emperor looked straight at Pei Yan, his eyes narrowed slightly.

His breathing was extremely light, but the coldness in his eyes was clearly visible. However, in an instant, the coldness in the emperor's eyes disappeared without a trace.

The emperor raised his head slightly, looking past Pei Yan and directly outside the Zhenguan Hall, and said calmly: "I chose you to be the regent minister, not only because you are courageous and daring, but also because there is another thing I want you to do, something that you must do."

Pei Yan's expression suddenly became solemn, and he calmed down a lot in an instant.

There was a reason why the emperor bypassed Liu Rengui and appointed Xue Yuanchao as regent.

"Your Majesty, I respectfully listen to your instructions." Pei Yan bowed his head solemnly.

"Investigate the hidden fields." Li Zhi leaned forward slightly, staring at Pei Yan and said, "You are familiar with the matter of investigating the hidden fields. This is why you were able to successfully become the prime minister. You have been the prime minister for many years, and you should know the reasons behind this."

Pei Yan immediately bowed slightly and said, "The court is short of money."

The emperor raised his eyebrows and said without joy or anger: "Continue."

"Yes!" Pei Yan bowed quickly and continued, "Since the defeat at Dafeichuan in the first year of Xianheng, Tubo, Tuyuhun, and Silla have gradually become unstable, and the court has been embroiled in many wars.

In the past few years, although the court has pacified Tibet and the Western Turks, it still consumes a lot of money. Now there is unrest in the Western Turks. Although the court’s expenditure is not greater than the income, it is still insufficient. "

The emperor nodded calmly and said, "In a few years, there will be another war in the Western Regions. The Arabs have already begun to eye the Western Regions. Once the Arabs take over the Western Regions, they will definitely threaten Anxi and Fanzhou."

"Prince Peng still has a lot of potential in commanding his troops in Fanzhou." Pei Yan carefully raised his head and looked towards the emperor.

The emperor frowned and said coldly: "If all the food, fodder and military equipment are supported by Fanzhou, I will need to start to worry."

Pei Yan was immediately startled, and said with a folded hand: "It is I who have to think about this."

"Fanzhou needs stability. This is a prerequisite. King Peng spends half of the year in Fanzhou and the other half in the Western Regions, so there is no need to worry about things in Fanzhou and the Western Regions. But if the affairs of Fanzhou cause him to stay in Fanzhou all year round, then we need to be careful." The emperor reminded coldly.

Pei Yan immediately felt a chill run down his spine and said, "It was my fault."

"Su Liangsi is still young. He can stay in the position of Imperial Censor for a few more years and then become the Minister of the Secretariat. As for the others, they all have some problems to a greater or lesser extent."

Li Zhi waved his hands impatiently and said, "You have to be diligent in checking the hidden fields. If the entire Tang Dynasty still lacks financial resources after checking it once, then we can check it again."

"Yes!" Pei Yan's expression suddenly became stern.

Land inventory has always been an offensive matter.

In fact, there were only two people who accomplished all of this, one was Pei Yan and the other was Pei Xingjian.

It’s a pity that because Pei Yan became the prime minister, Pei Xingjian could only be a guest of the crown prince and could not go any further.

But this does not mean that it would be easy for Pei Yan to investigate Yintian as he became the prime minister.

If it was really easy, he would not have completely distanced himself from the matter after being appointed as prime minister. Even when Pei Xingjian intervened in the matter later, he did not hinder him at all.

It's because this matter offends people so much.

Those who were able to hide the farmland were either local officials or aristocratic families. These were their means of extorting money and grain by borrowing the power of the court.

But this matter could never be made public. When the imperial court needed money, they would extort half of it, and you would have to hand over the land immediately, and even pay the taxes owed in recent years.

If you have some means and have a good relationship with the government, you will be fined one year at most. But if you have no relationship with the government, you will have to accept the fine even if it is three to five years.

Fortunately, the emperor sent people to check the hidden fields one by one. It would take several years to check each field, not to mention that after the check, as long as some means were used, the fields could be taken back in a few days.

This is another way to gain profit.

Of course, the imperial court also gained something.

It's just that it's impossible for everyone to benefit from this. Someone always has to pay something.

This incident was the condition for the emperor to appoint Pei Yan as regent.

……

Pei Yan's eyes fell on the sandalwood box on the side. He knew that if he hesitated for a moment today, the emperor would immediately take away the appointment of regent from his head.

"As prime minister, you have to do things." The emperor sighed, and then continued: "I hope you can stay in the court for a few more years and protect the prince from more storms."

"Your Majesty, you are too kind!" Pei Yan bowed his head heavily to the ground, and then said: "I will definitely do my best."

"Okay!" The emperor smiled and said, "You can leave now, but don't relax and wait for orders."

When he heard the words "ready to receive your orders", Pei Yan felt a chill in his heart.

"Your Majesty...Your Majesty obeys your orders." Pei Yan kowtowed again, then slowly stood up and walked out of the Zhenguan Hall.

Looking at Pei Yan's leaving back, the emperor sneered slightly.

How could an emperor like him not see through Pei Yan's thoughts?

It's nothing more than wanting to monopolize government and control the court.

There have always been many such people in history books.

Even in this dynasty, there was a Changsun Wuji before.

Pei Yan also went through that time, and he was also aware of Changsun Wuji's fate.

But when he reached that position, he knew that he had no way back and could only move forward step by step.

Eventually it got out of control. Although it was dangerous, the emperor wanted to use Pei Yan.

Pei Yan is the only one in the court who can investigate the hidden fields. Others like Su Liangsi and Li Xuan, and the emperor will not use him to do this.

So even though the emperor saw through Pei Yan's ambition, he still made him regent.

At the same time, Pei Yan's ability is enough to suppress all disobedience inside and outside the country.

Otherwise, based on Pei Yan's previous actions, the emperor would have caught him long ago and deposed him from the capital with just a few words.

But this person will not stay in the court for too long.

It won’t take ten years at all, four or five years will be enough.

The emperor turned around and said, "Come here, call the Imperial Court Minister Liu Jingxian!"

……

Pei Yan walked on the palace road, looking at the rosewood box in his hand, wishing he could open it right away.

A regent, a regent whose power was even greater than that of Liu Rengui.

There are not many such people in the entire Tang Dynasty, and the previous one is Changsun Wuji.

Pei Yan's mind suddenly became clear. He knew very well what would happen to Changsun Wuji in the end.

Although Changsun Wuji was the emperor's uncle, even he could not escape the fate of being dismissed from all official positions and forced to hang himself.

If Pei Yan really couldn't figure out his position, his fate would probably not be much better.

At this moment, a figure came quickly from the opposite side. He was dressed in a purple robe and was none other than Liu Jingxian, the Yellow Gate Minister and a third-rank official of the Secretariat.

Pei Yan was the first to stop. Liu Jing saw Pei Yan and hurriedly bowed. The two just nodded to each other and left.

Continuing forward, Pei Yan has arrived at Chengtian Gate. Pei Yan looked up and could not see Li Xuan.

But he did not forget that when Li Xuan came out of Zhenguan Hall before, he was holding the same rosewood box in his hand.

So I'm afraid that not only before, but even after, there were still many people holding the same rosewood box.

These people are just like Li Jing and the royal family kings to Zhangsun Wuji back then.

Changsun Wuji helped the emperor kill Prince of Wu Li Ke, but ended up causing hostility from all the royal families in the world. When the emperor executed Changsun Wuji, none of the generals in the army or the royal kings stood by him.

Changsun Wuji had relatives by marriage behind him. Does Pei Yan have any?
Taking a deep breath, Pei Yan turned around and looked at the Qianyang Palace behind him, his face couldn't help but become bitter.

Sitting there was a queen who also suppressed the court and the country. It was really difficult for Pei Yan to do anything.

Turning around, Pei Yan walked straight towards the Secretariat.

As he walked, Pei Yan couldn't help but pause. He remembered what the emperor had just said about being ready to receive orders at any time. For some unknown reason, Pei Yan felt something was wrong.

Is it...

……

Li Xuan stood on the city gate without looking back. Just by listening to the footsteps below, he knew it was Pei Yan.

Li Xuan's mind was calm and his eyes were indifferent.

Pei Yan, the regent, acted at the wrong time.

One by one, the important officials of the court entered the Zhenguan Hall from Chengtian Gate, followed by the kings. However, the emperor only received a few princes and elders like Li Xiaoyi.

He sees the younger generation less and less.

Finally, Crown Prince Li Xian came out of the East Palace alone.

When passing by Chengtian Gate, Li Xian looked up at Li Xuan, with a hint of sadness in his confused eyes.

Li Xuan did not look down at him, but took a calm step forward, holding the eight-sided Han sword in his hand, looking coldly at the imperial city in front of him, and the entire Luoyang city behind the imperial city.

Li Xian smiled lightly, then calmly walked into Chengtian Sect.

……

A slight cough was heard in the Zhenguan Hall.

Li Xian heard the cough as soon as he stepped over the threshold. He was stunned for a moment, then he couldn't help but step forward, kneel on the ground, and choked up and called out, "Father."

Behind the curtain, the emperor raised his head slightly and stretched out his hand to touch Li Xian's forehead, but as soon as he raised his hand, he felt a pain in his arm: "Ugh!"

"Father!" Li Xian looked up and saw Li Zhi's actions. He quickly knelt forward and even entered the curtain. He raised his head slightly, allowing the emperor's hand to fall on his forehead.

Seeing Li Xian like this, the emperor couldn't help but smile with satisfaction and said softly: "You are so kind and filial."

"Your Highness... Your Highness is duty-bound to be filial to Your Highness." Li Xian raised his head, tears welling up in his eyes, and asked softly, "How do you feel, Your Highness?"

"I'm fine." Li Zhi nodded calmly. Even though the roots of his hair were visibly turning white, his face was dry, and his lips were pale, it still couldn't conceal his spirit.

This emperor has been powerful throughout his life, conquering both the north and the south, and still has no rivals to this day.

At this point, although he knew the situation was serious, he still felt confident.

The emperor let his hand slide from Li Xian's forehead and rested it on his shoulder. Then he looked up and asked softly, "You have been the crown prince for three years, right?"

"Yes!" Li Xian bowed solemnly, and then said: "I was the crown prince in the fourth year of Yifeng and the first year of Tiaolu. I have been through Tiaolu, Yonglong, Hongdao and now, a total of three years, four months and three days."

"Do you think you are qualified as the crown prince?" the emperor asked softly, but Li Xian fell silent.

(End of this chapter)