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

Chapter 1790 The Emperor's Eastern Tour, the Crown Prince Regent

In the Taiji Hall, all officials stood in silence.

Feng Yuanchang knelt down in the hall and said in a deep voice: "Yesterday, I learned that a family member had committed illegal acts. I have investigated the matter in detail overnight. I ask Your Majesty to review and punish him."

As he spoke, Feng Yuanchang took out a memorial from his sleeve and held it high.

Li Xuan sat on the imperial couch, glanced at Feng Yuanchang, then looked at Zhang Jianzhi, and said, "Jianzhi, you should go to Hebei, investigate this matter, and deal with it with the local authorities before returning to Beijing. If you need anything, contact Di Huaiying directly."

"I obey your order!" Zhang Jianzhi immediately took up his tablet and accepted the order.

Li Xuan then turned to look at Feng Yuanchang and said, "Mr. Feng, I believe you know nothing about your family's affairs, but this matter has involved too many people, and I need to explain it to the court and the people, so I will relieve you of your position as Shangshu Zuocheng."

"I thank Your Majesty for your grace." Feng Yuanchang bowed solemnly.

Li Xuan waved his hand and said, "As for the affairs of Jizhou, you need to have your family cooperate with the local government to handle them properly. What should be returned should be returned, and those who should be punished should be punished. After everything is handled cleanly, you can go to Qizhou to serve as the governor of Qizhou and dredge the Yellow River for me. When the merits and demerits are offset, you can return to the court to serve with ease."

"I thank Your Majesty for your grace." Feng Yuanchang kowtowed in disbelief.

Qizhou, the upper state, belongs to Mount Tai.

When the emperor offered sacrifices to the gods at Mount Tai, the governor of Qizhou was a very important position second only to the prime minister in the court.

Although Feng Yuanchang is now Shangshu Zuocheng, he is only one step away from being promoted to prime minister.

But in the final analysis, he was no more than the Minister of the Secretariat, and then the third rank official of the Secretariat, his qualifications being the lowest among all the prime ministers.

Moreover, his actual qualifications were seriously insufficient, and his authority in the court might not even be as great as that of any of the six ministers.

Therefore, being transferred to the post of Governor of Qizhou was equivalent to a promotion for him.

Li Xuan looked at Feng Yuanchang calmly and said solemnly: "Finish the Feng family's affairs, and then dredge the Yellow River for me. If you do a good job, you can come back. If you don't do a good job, you can retire after completing this term."

"Yes, I obey your order." Feng Yuanchang was startled. Only then did he realize that it was definitely not an easy task for the emperor to ask him to go to Qizhou to manage the Yellow River.

"It will rain this summer, so you should set off early, urge spring planting, and pay attention to autumn harvest. If the autumn harvest is insufficient this year, don't blame me for severely reprimanding you." Li Xuan was very impolite in his words.

"I obey your order." Feng Yuanchang bowed solemnly.

Li Xuan raised his head, looked at Lu Yuanfang and said, "Qizhou Governor Pei Shouzhen has been transferred to serve as the Chief Clerk of Bingzhou Grand Military Governor's Office."

"Yes!" Lu Yuanfang immediately bowed.

Ever since Feng Yandao was transferred back to Chang'an from Bingzhou, the position of Chief Clerk of the Bingzhou Grand Marshal's Office has been vacant. Now someone has finally been transferred there.

At the same time, all the officials in the palace finally realized that the position of Shangshu Zuo Cheng was vacant.

So who will be transferred to the position of Shangshu Zuocheng?
Li Xuan said calmly, "Wang Yinke, the Right Chancellor of the Ministry of Personnel, will be promoted to the Left Chancellor of the Ministry of Personnel. The Right Chancellor of the Ministry of Personnel will be recommended by the Ministry of Personnel, and then the Council of Political Affairs will decide. Just report it to me!"

"We obey your order!" The ministers immediately bowed solemnly. They knew that what Li Xuan wanted was for Wang Yinke to be promoted to the position of Shangshu Zuo Cheng.

At this point, as long as there was a vacancy in the Council of State, the emperor could promote the former Chief Clerk of King Peng to the position of Vice Minister of the Secretariat, the third rank of the Secretariat, which would mean he would become the prime minister.

Of course, in terms of seniority, Wang Yinke’s qualifications are insufficient, and any of the six ministers are more senior than him.

Therefore, if he wanted to surpass the other ministers of the six ministries and become the prime minister, he could only rely on the emperor's promotion.

However, behind the Minister of Personnel Yun Hongyin was the support of younger generations such as former Prime Minister Zhao Renben, former Prime Minister Zhang Wenguan, and Hao Chujun.

The Minister of Revenue Pei Judao, that is a relative of Concubine Pei.

The Minister of Punishments, Xiao Siye, spent even longer with the emperor than Wang Yinke.

The Minister of War Wang Fangyi is senior to Wang Yinke in terms of seniority and military achievements.

The Minister of Rites, Prince Huo Li Yuangui, may be the only person who could not become the prime minister. As for the Minister of Works Huang Rensu, he never sought to become the prime minister.

But don't forget, there are also the Imperial Censor Wei Xuantong, the Vice Minister of Justice Li Zhaode, the Governor of Yingzhou Di Renjie, the Chief Secretary of the Yangzhou Military Governor's Office Duan Baoxuan, the Chief Secretary of the Yizhou Military Governor's Office Yao Yi, and so on. There are many people who want to be prime minister.

It was good for Wang Yinke to be the Shangshu Zuocheng, but it would be extremely difficult for him to go further.

The emperor wanted the position of Shangshu Zuo Cheng, and the position of Shangshu You Cheng became vacant, which meant that this position became a target for other forces to compete for.

……

Sitting on the imperial couch, Li Xuan looked at the Imperial College Master and Chongwenguan Grand Secretary Kong Huiyuan and said, "Mr. Kong!"

"I'm here!" Kong Huiyuan stood up immediately.

Li Xuan nodded and said, "Such a big thing has happened in Jizhou. You should go there in person to calm people down. At the same time, appoint He Ji, a scholar of the Hongwen Academy, as the president of Jizhou Academy. You two should take care of the affairs of Jizhou Academy first and put the affairs of the national history aside for the time being. This matter is of great importance."

"We obey your command." Kong Huiyuan and He Ji bowed solemnly at the same time.

Li Xuan swept his eyes among the ministers, and finally he said, "Lord Lu!"

Lu Zangyong stood up immediately.

Li Xuan nodded and said, "You have been in the Dali Temple for several years. It is time to send you out for experience. I order you to be promoted to the position of Prince's Groom, Inspector of the Imperial College Doctor, and Inspector of the President of Yangzhou Academy. Go and take care of the affairs of Yangzhou Academy for me."

"I obey your order." Lu Zangyong immediately bowed heavily.

He was originally the Prince's Chief Steward, but was able to move up the career ladder step by step from Secretary, Imperial Pharmacist, Chief Justice, to the Prince's Groom, and now he has finally made his own way.

As long as the Prince's Groom holds the position firmly, he will surely be appointed as the Junior Secretary of the Nine Temples or even the Vice Minister of the Six Ministries in the future.

When the time comes, he will be sent to another province as a governor, and when he comes back, he will be the minister of nine temples and six ministries, or even the prime minister. Especially with his friendship with Li Xuan.

"When you are in Yangzhou, remember to send a memorial back to Chang'an every five days and deliver it to the prince." As soon as Li Xuan said this, Lu Zangyong immediately understood.

The emperor wanted to use him as his eyes to see what was happening in Yangzhou and even in the entire Jiangnan region.

Lu Zangyong immediately bowed and said, "I obey your command."

Li Xuan looked at Lu Zangyong and He Ji calmly and said, "There are schools in each province, schools in each state, schools in each county, and even schools in prosperous towns and towns with large populations. In the future, I hope that every village in the Tang Dynasty will have its own school to educate people and educate everyone. I hope that you and I can achieve our goal."

"Your Majesty is wise and enlightened, and your grace and grace have lasted for three periods of time. You are assisted by four stars, as virtuous as the sun and the moon. You represent the source of the king's rule and the foundation of filial piety and brotherhood. You will shine through the ages and serve as an example to all directions. We, the ministers, will praise and honor you, and we will leap for joy without restraint and dance for joy." All the ministers bowed their heads.

Li Xuan smiled slightly. He had to admit that he was very happy with this kind of horse. He raised his hand and said, "Gentlemen, please stand up."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." The ministers then stood up.

"There are three more things." Li Xuan's expression became solemn, and then he said seriously: "It is already the end of spring, and the Ministry of Revenue will send personnel to the front to investigate the spring planting. It has rained heavily this year, and all states must be prepared."

"I obey your order." Minister of Revenue Pei Judao immediately stood up and bowed.

Li Xuan nodded and said, "The Ministry of Works, the Dali Temple, the Censorate, and the Water Conservancy Bureau should send personnel to the local areas to investigate local water prevention issues, especially in low-lying counties and prefectures... I still remember what happened in Shanzhou. Although I was not in Luoyang at the time, Shanzhou was submerged by the Yellow River for months. If Emperor Gaozong had not been prepared, I am afraid there would have been countless casualties. Now, we must do our utmost to prevent the same thing from happening again."

"We obey your command." All the ministers bowed.

Although Li Xuan was not in Chang'an or Luoyang during the flood that year, he was the one who predicted the flood.

Fortunately, both Li Zhi and Empress Wu believed Li Xuan's prediction and made active preparations, and finally survived the flood.

"The second thing!" Li Xuan's expression became serious, and he said seriously: "It's almost April, and you should prepare for the eastern tour to Luoyang."

"Yes!" All the ministers bowed solemnly. The emperor was going on an eastern tour and the crown prince was in charge of the country, so it was time to start making preparations.

"The crown prince will stay in Chang'an to supervise the country, and all the officials of the Eastern Palace will stay in Chang'an, with the Left Prime Minister, Wang Xiang, Prince Huo, Prince Zheng, Wang Yinke, and Li Zhaode as assistants. The rest of the ministers will follow me to Luoyang. The Empress Dowager and the rest of the princes will all go. Only the crown prince and the prime minister, Wang Xiang, Prince Huo, Prince Zheng, and the officials of the Eastern Palace will stay... Minister Xing, you have to pay attention." Li Xuan specifically pointed out Xing Wenwei.

When Xing Wenwei was in Fanzhou, he was the fourth most important official after Li Xuan, Heichi Changzhi and Zhang Daan.

Now the prince stays in Chang'an, and other ministers handle state affairs. He is the only one who truly teaches the prince.

Li Xuan looked at the ministers, and everyone he named stood up.

With Lu Yuanfang and Wang Jishan in charge of Chang'an, it can be ensured that there will be no chaos in government affairs.

With Li Yuangui and Li Jing in Chang'an, Li Zhizhao's safety can be guaranteed.

Of course, there will be more people left by Li Xuan in the army.

"The third thing!" Li Xuan smiled and looked at the ministers and said, "My lords, Wang Zhaorong has been diagnosed with pregnancy today. My lords, please congratulate me!"

All the ministers were surprised at the same time that the emperor had blood again.

His ability may have surpassed that of Emperor Gaozong, and may even be approaching that of Emperor Taizong.

Taizong had fourteen sons, and the emperor already had ten of them, most of whom survived in infancy.

The most important thing is that the emperor is still young. In a few years, he will completely surpass Emperor Taizong.

Directly approaching Emperor Gaozu.

If the dynasty continues to flourish like this, I'm afraid that in a few years, people all over the world will completely forget Emperor Taizong.

Being able to give birth is a blessing for the emperor.

This is especially true for the young emperor.

……

On the Wei River, Li Xuan stood at the bow, looking at Li Zhizhao standing on the shore with a gentle look on his face.

"Your Majesty, I am still a little worried." Liu Jinyu stood beside Li Xuan, looked up at him, and whispered, "Your Majesty asked the Queen Mother to go to Luoyang with him, leaving Zhao'er alone. I am really worried."

"Don't worry, nothing will happen." Li Xuan gently hugged Liu Jinyu in his arms, and then whispered: "Yesterday, I summoned Wang Yinke, Li Zhaode and Xing Wenwei, and granted them the power to act at their discretion. At the critical moment, they have the power to deal with any chaos."

"Yeah!" Liu Jinyu nodded lightly.

Li Xuan raised his head and continued, "In addition, Sima Zhenren's disciple Xue Jichang will serve as the prince's chief chef. He will be responsible for the prince's food."

Xue Jichang, a member of the Xue family, entered Taoism at an early age and practiced Taoism with Sima Chengzhen.

The royal family has always used Taoist disciples to protect the safety of the prince.

"Moreover, my uncle will stay in Chang'an quietly and keep an eye on all those who are interested." Li Xuan narrowed his eyes slightly.

With Zhao Gong in Chang'an, he could completely rest assured.

"What about Luoyang?" Liu Jinyu looked at Li Xuan worriedly and said, "In June, my husband will go on a tour to Yangzhou. What about Luoyang?"

"The Right Prime Minister, Prime Minister Li, my uncle, and Prime Minister Zhang are all in Luoyang. This is enough to ensure that government affairs will not be in chaos. With Uncle Master Wang from the Ministry of War here, there won't be any problems in the army. Not to mention, at the critical moment, my lady can also call on the Chief Clerk of Luoyang to do his job." There was a hint of relief in the corners of Li Xuan's eyes.

Over the years, he has been adding the powers of Yongzhou Chief Secretary and Luozhou Chief Secretary.

Whether it was Liu Zhirou or Lai Jingye, their role at the critical moment was no less than that of a prime minister.

(End of this chapter)