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

Chapter 1722: Imperial Pattern, Imperial Means

King Peng, East Courtyard.

In the bedroom, Li Xuan, who had changed into a blue brocade dress, handed a memorial to Liu Jinyu and said, "The princess sent someone to secretly contact the Minister of Personnel Zhao Xuan in the name of Mr. Dou, and let him think that it was the Dou family's intention to push Dou Chi to the position of Minister of Revenue."

"Princess, are you planning to use Prince Xiang to win over the Dou family?" Liu Jinyu saw through the key at a glance.

"Yes!" Li Xuan nodded gently and said, "The princess has been trying to win over the ministers left by the empress for the past six months. People like Fan Lubing and Guo Zhengyi have kept in touch with her. There are also the father and son Bi Gou and Bi Jing, and Yang Shan from the Yang family. They are all guests in her house. In addition, there are the Xue family, Xue Shao, Xue Guan, and Xue Na. Their power is not weak."

"It seems like the princess is really planning to follow the queen's old path." Liu Jinyu sighed softly.

Li Xuan lay down on the bed and said with emotion: "This is not surprising. The princess' father is the emperor, her mother is the emperor, three of her four brothers are emperors, and even the remaining one is the prince. Two nephews are emperors. If Li Chengqi also succeeds to the throne, then three nephews will be emperors."

Liu Jinyu put the memorial in his hand aside and asked in a low voice: "What are you going to do?"

"What should we do? Push forward." Li Xuan shook his head slightly and said, "Keep her up first. Isn't she trying to win over the Dou family? Give her this opportunity and find a way to vacate the position of a minister and let her push Dou Chi up."

"Will my husband allow it?" Liu Jinyu asked in a low voice.

"Let's see if Dou Chi comes to see me." Li Xuan looked above the bed and said with a sigh, "If he doesn't come to see me, it means he is still devoted to Sinong Temple. If he comes to see me, it means his mind is not in Sinong Temple, so there is no point for me to keep him."

"Si Nong Temple." Liu Jinyu keenly grasped the key point in Li Xuan's words and asked, "Is Dou Chi's presence in Si Nong Temple important to my husband?"

"Very important." Li Xuan turned over and sat up, looking at Liu Jinyu and said, "Nowadays, if you want to measure land in the world, the most well-known one is the Ministry of Revenue. In fact, it uses the Dushuijian to transport rivers and ditches throughout the world to assist in measuring land, but few people know that there is a third method."

"What method?" Liu Jinyu asked curiously.

"Si Nong Temple." Li Xuan raised his head and said softly, "Si Nong Temple has the advantage of planting. They go down to the local areas to check the farmland. If they are all experienced, they can walk around once and know how many farmlands there are. If they walk around the whole country, how can the land in the world be hidden from you and me?"

Seeing Li Xuan's excitement, Liu Jinyu nodded and said, "My husband has always been concerned about the fields."

"Yes!" Li Xuan sighed, then lay down again and continued, "Since Dou Chi was in Wugong County, he has been valued by Emperor Zhongzong and my husband because he has put a lot of effort into the land affairs of Wugong County. Now he is transferred to the position of Shaoqing of Sinong Temple, but if his heart is not here, then give him to the princess."

If Dou Chi is willing to work hard on farming, then he will be a useful talent to Li Xuan. If he is not willing to work hard on farming, then his fate will be as a chess piece.

"When he is really used by the princess in the future, we can use the princess's matter to cut off half of the Dou family." Li Xuan suddenly shook his head and said, "No, there is also the Xue family."

The Xue family behind Xue Shao, Xue Guan, and Xue Na is also the Xue family behind Xue Yuanchao and Xue Rengui.

On the grounds that the Wei family was plotting treason, Li Xuan eliminated almost half of the Wei family.

On the grounds that Cui Zhiwen was plotting treason, Li Xuan cut off half of the three families of Cui, Lu and Zheng.

On the grounds that Princess Taiping was plotting treason, Li Xuan set his sights on the Dou family and the Xue family. He even expected more families to join Princess Taiping's camp.

"By the way, my husband seems to have changed his strategy today. He held back on both the Zheng and Cui families?" Liu Jinyu suddenly remembered this.

Li Xuan nodded and said solemnly, "Putting aside the matters of Cui Shenji and Cui Xuanwei, I suddenly realized that I almost made a big mistake."

Liu Jinyu didn't say anything, she just gently held Li Xuan's arm.

Li Xuan looked up and said softly, "My husband suddenly realized that the Ministry of Revenue has a limit on how much it can do when it comes to confiscating families. If the Zheng family, half of the Cui family, and half of the Lu family are confiscated at once, the Ministry of Revenue will not only be overwhelmed, but will also face strong resistance from the Cui, Lu, and Zheng families. But if we slow down a bit, things will be different."

If we slow down a bit, the resistance from the Cui, Lu and Zheng families won't be so strong, and with them watching, those people in the Ministry of Households won't do anything rash.

"My husband actually wants to say that if we raid all three companies at once, we will become the target of public criticism." Liu Jinyu pointed out Li Xuan's core problem in one breath.

Li Xuan nodded slightly and said solemnly, "Prime Minister Cui is the prime minister after all. If he is taken to the West Market and beheaded, I'm afraid all the other prime ministers will feel grief over his death. They will not be so careful and will be careless in handling the following matters."

"A prime minister, who has made several careful plans but has not harmed my husband in the slightest, has almost caused the family that my husband designed to be wiped out. When you think about it carefully, it is indeed terrifying." Liu Jinyu sighed lightly, but then shook his head slightly. In fact, they had no way out.

"The key lies in the princess." Li Xuan shook her head slightly and said cautiously, "After all, the princess is the daughter of the Queen Mother. If we reveal something that we shouldn't reveal and she catches us, we'll be in big trouble."

"I'll remember it." Liu Jinyu nodded slightly.

"And those fields." Li Xuan looked regretful and sighed, "In the early years, I would have directly distributed those fields to the poorest people, but now..."

"How is it now?"

"They can't keep it." Li Xuan shook his head and said, "It's not the best idea to directly distribute the land to them. So, divide it into three parts: the poorest people, the richest family, the small and medium-sized families in the middle, and the wealthier farmers. In this way, everyone gets what they deserve, and this will suppress greed to the greatest extent."

"What if they still refuse to give up?"

"Kill!" Li Xuan turned over and sat up, sneering in his eyes and said, "What I lack now is a reason to kill. If someone really gives it to me, then one day, the blood will flow like a river, and no one in the world will dare to say anything."

Liu Jinyu didn't say anything else, just nodded in agreement.

"But now, it is better to be cautious, so I have left some land for county schools and township schools in various places. If these things can be used to allow more people to go to school, the hearts of scholars all over the world will be loyal to me." Li Xuan smiled gently.

"So my husband gave the leading power of this confiscation to Prime Minister Lu, Prime Minister Wang, and Prime Minister Cen." Liu Jinyu nodded with some understanding and said, "It is because they will pay more attention to these academic matters and prepare for the future at the same time."

The future, whose future, Li Xuan’s future, the future of Li Xuan and Liu Jinyu, and the future of the entire Pengwang Mansion.

Now they have no way out, but they still have the initiative. A light sound of footsteps interrupted Li Xuan's thoughts, and Zhou Sheng's voice sounded outside the door: "My Lord, there is a secret letter coming back from outside the Princess's mansion."

Li Xuan stood up and went outside to take the secret letter. While reading it, he walked to the bed and handed it to Liu Jinyu. He shook his head and said, "The princess sent someone to Mr. Dou's mansion."

"This is...she doesn't understand today's situation?" Liu Jinyu was a little surprised.

"Hmm!" Li Xuan smiled and shook her head, "Generally speaking, this is the time to beat the fallen dog, but my husband brought up Cui Shenji and Cui Xuanwei. She naturally doesn't understand this step, and even the people in the princess's mansion don't understand it. The world's situation is so subtle. The princess is too young... You can have a good sleep tonight."

"Then you don't care about Mr. Dou?" Liu Jinyu looked at Li Xuan in surprise.

"Mr. Dou is tired. He hasn't had a good rest since he was transferred back from Yangzhou. He doesn't want to get involved in the current storm, unless the princess directly reveals the card of Dou Chi." Li Xuan sighed and said, "An old man in the family is like a treasure. Even if the princess's plan succeeds, the Dou family may not stand with her."

Li Xuan closed his eyes slightly, and he could already hear slight snoring while he was talking.

"Okay, don't sleep here." Liu Jinyu pushed Li Xuan and said unhappily, "You have a bride over there!"

"Bride, what bride?" Li Xuan was slightly stunned, then waved his hands suddenly and said, "Don't worry about her, let her stay at home for a while, and send her to serve mother in a few days."

"Well, she is the legitimate daughter of the Zheng family after all." Liu Jinyu pushed Li Xuan again and said, "Xingyang is located between Chang'an and Hebei. If we use them well, the connection between the Cui family's center and the local areas will not be so smooth, especially since she has to go back to her parents' home tomorrow. We still have to do something about this."

"My lady, you mean that if we don't use them properly, the connection between Hebei and the central government will be affected, right? But do they still dare to mess around now?" Li Xuan smiled helplessly, but still stood up honestly, then turned around and said, "In April, the emperor will go on an eastern tour to Luoyang, so my lady should make more arrangements at home."

"I know!" Liu Jinyu smiled as she watched Li Xuan leave reluctantly. Finally, her smile faded and she shook her head with a wry smile, "There are more and more people in this family."

Just like in the palace.

……

Under the red candle, Li Xuan looked at Zheng Shiwu Niang, whose face was a little pale, and said softly: "You know what happened today."

Zheng Shiwu Niang gritted her teeth and nodded slightly.

"Don't worry, it's none of your business, nor your parents' business. I've checked and found that your parents were unaware of this matter from beginning to end, so don't worry." Li Xuan stretched out his hand to lift Zheng Shiwu Niang's white chin and said softly, "I've said that from now on, you are my person. Even if you die, you will be my ghost. You can't escape it in life or death."

"I have never wanted to leave my husband." Zheng Shiwu Niang suddenly looked up and looked at Li Xuan with firm eyes.

We have already worshipped in the hall and drunk the wedding wine, so what else can we do?

Li Xuan smiled and reached out to take off the silk dress from the shoulders of the weak girl opposite her.

Green clothes, red letter, snowy skin and rosy complexion.

Li Xuan leaned over and whispered in Zheng Shiwu Niang's ear: "The orchids and lilies flourish for a thousand years, and the zither and harp music last for a hundred years."

Zheng Shiwu Niang... Zheng Zhi bit her lips again and groaned...

……

It was dark at night, in the study of Princess Taiping's residence.

Princess Taiping turned over the secret letter in her hand and said with a sneer, "Mr. Dou is still old and dares not even say a word."

Bi Jing and Yang Shan bowed together.

Princess Taiping looked serious and said, "Prince Peng has a strong control over Chang'an. The Queen Mother had been bewitched a while ago. Cui Shenji stood aside and saw it more clearly. Prime Minister Cui's failure was expected, but I still don't understand why Prince Peng sent two Cui children to the positions of Vice Minister of Personnel and Vice Minister of Revenue."

In the Tang Dynasty court, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel and the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue both held very important positions.

Princess Taiping had anticipated many other things, but she really couldn't understand why Li Xuan sent Cui Shenji to the Ministry of Personnel and Cui Xuanwei to the Ministry of Revenue.

The Cui family has already fallen, and now is the time to pounce on them and crush them completely. Why are you turning around and supporting them instead?
The people under Princess Taiping's command also couldn't see clearly, so they sent people to ask Dou Xuande for advice, but unfortunately Dou Xuande didn't reply at all.

As for Doulu Qinwang, compared to Dou Xuande who had completely retired, Doulu Qinwang was watched very closely.

"Forget it, you guys go back first." Princess Taiping waved her hand slightly, and Bi Jing and Yang Shan bowed and said goodbye at the same time.

After the two of them left, Princess Taiping looked toward the rear window and asked, "What do you think?"

A figure flashed into the room from the back window like a line. Guo regretted standing in the shadows and bowed carefully, saying, "Your Highness, I have a bold guess. I wonder if I can tell you?"

"You say!" Princess Taiping suddenly became serious.

Guo regretted and bowed carefully, saying, "Your Highness, I suspect that King Peng is deliberately trying to maintain a balance. While he is trying his best to weaken the Cui family, he is also trying to maintain the Cui family, the entire Hebei issue, and the stability of the court. If this is true, then King Peng's situation is very..."

He has a very imperial character and very imperial methods.

"The situation is stable?" Princess Taiping sneered softly and gritted her teeth: "You mean to say that he is trying his best to win over the people's hearts?"

(End of this chapter)