First Minister of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 629 Captain Gao

...

When the decree to kill Lu Zushang spread, an uproar immediately arose.

Many civil and military officials in the court have requested orders. In normal times, according to Li Shimin's temper, they might be able to be lenient.

Although he was sentenced to death in the name of disobedience, in fact the monarchy at this time did not reach the peak of monarchy.

It is not uncommon for the court to resist and disobey the imperial edict, especially among the leading generals and imperial censors. This is one of the reasons why Lu Zushang dared to resist the edict. After all, he had made meritorious service and was a famous general. He felt that the emperor was not What will happen to him.

However, Li Shimin has been on the throne for only half a year, and he is establishing his authority externally, dealing with vassal kings such as Lujiang King Li Yuan and Changle King Li Xiaoliang, and internally demoting vassals.

At this time, Lu Zushang ignorantly and fearlessly provoked the imperial power. As his brother-in-law Zhou Fan said, this was a flagrant act of humiliating the emperor.

Unfortunately, the high-spirited Duke Yiyang did not realize this.

When Li Junxian led the imperial army to the Lu Mansion to announce the decree, Lu Zushang couldn't believe it at all. After receiving the decree, he turned it over and over to check the authenticity.

"Lu Zhishang, don't be surprised if I act according to orders." Li Junxian looked at Lu Zushang who was slumped on the couch with a frightened expression, sighed slightly, and cupped his hands.

"I admire you for your illustrious military exploits and that you are indeed a good general in this world. I will give you a quarter of an hour to explain your posthumous affairs. Please invite Mr. Lu."

Even though he was ordered to kill Lu Zushang, Li Junxian still gave him the greatest respect.

Not only because of Lu Zushang's title and official position, but also because they were both warriors.

Lu Zushang protected the territory and defended himself. After surrendering his land to the Tang Dynasty, he served as Zhengfu Gonger and was appointed as the commander-in-chief of the former army. He used troops quickly and fiercely. Within one month, he successively captured Xuanzhou, Shezhou and other places. It is not an exaggeration to call him a good general.

Hearing Li Junxian's words, Lu Zushang came back to his senses with a look of shock.

"General Li, are you serious?" Lu Zushang still can't believe it until now.

"How is this possible...".

Seeing that Lu Zushang was still stubborn until this moment, Li Junxian was slightly startled and could only shake his head and turn around.

"Time is running out, Lord Lu, please take care of it."

At this time, Lu Zushang's uncle Zhou Fan hurried in and took a look at their expressions.

One was sitting paralyzed in fear, and the other was facing away with a stern expression.

Zhou Fan couldn't care anymore, rushed forward and kicked his brother-in-law to the ground. He beat his chest sadly and sighed: "Lu Jiliang, I regret that you didn't listen to me, so that the current situation has affected innocent families and children. You really deserve to die." ah!"

Lu Zushang struggled to get up in embarrassment, grabbed the hem of Zhou Fan's clothes and cried loudly.

"Save me, brother, save me." He no longer had the high-spirited demeanor of a county official in the past, only the embarrassment of a dying man.

"Are you really taking the imperial edict as a joke?" Zhou Fan was so angry that he glared and shouted angrily, and then shouted to the panicked Lu Fu at the door of the nave: "Get a pen and paper."

Lu Fu was still frightened and at a loss.

Li Junxian's eyes narrowed and he looked at Zhou Fan who came in a hurry, thoughtfully.

Zhou Fanjue was granted the title of Duke of Yichun County, and his official title was General Zuotunwei, who guarded the imperial city.

Li Junxian was granted the title of Duke of Wulian County, and his official title was General Zuo Wuwei, who stayed in the imperial palace.

The two have similar official positions and similar responsibilities. They have had many friendships in the past and are very familiar with each other.

Li Junxian was well aware of Zhou Fan's wisdom. Zhou Fan should still be on duty in the imperial city at this time, but he came in a hurry, and it was definitely not just to see his brother-in-law for the last time.

Seeing Lu Fu's frightened face and just standing still, Zhou Fan was furious and said, "Go quickly."

Lu Fu nodded hurriedly and stumbled into the study to prepare pen and paper.

"Please wait a moment," Zhou Fancai nodded to Li Junxian. The two were familiar with each other and there was no need for formal etiquette at this time.

Li Junxian nodded and walked to the door with his hands behind his back to wait.

Lu Fu quickly took out a pen and paper and spread it on the desk, still not knowing what he meant.

Lu Zushang also looked surprised, "Brother, what is this?"

"Write!"

Zhou Fan looked solemn and said in a deep voice: "Heli Shu!"

"What?" Lu Zushang was shocked, "Brother, how could you...".

"Idiot!" Zhou Fan looked at Li Junxian who stood tall and tall at the door.

"Now that the matter has come to this, don't implicate the family." Zhou Fan glared angrily, "I will do my best to support my nephew."

Facing his brother-in-law's anger, Lu Zushang also understood at this time, and his expression was a little dazed for a while.

After a long time, there was only a cough at the door, and Li Junxian said slowly: "Lu Shijun, the time has come, please say one more word, filial piety will not harm you."

Zhou Fan, courtesy name Xiaofan.

Lu Zushang came back to his senses and looked at Zhou Fan deeply, "Brother, please."

Then he wrote and wrote a brand new divorce letter with an expressionless face, and finally signed and printed it, waiting for the woman to sign and deposit it.

Zhou Fan took it and looked at it, and sighed sadly: "I had known this, why did I do it in the first place?"

Then turned away.

Li Junxian was filled with emotion when he saw this. He waved his hand back, and a forbidden soldier came forward with a tray in his hand. In the tray was a piece of white silk.

Lu Zushang looked at the piece of white silk, smiled sadly, stood up, straightened his clothes, straightened his appearance, and said proudly: "I, the Duke of Yiyang, was the governor of Yingzhou. I started my army at the age of 19 and crossed the Yangtze and Huaihe Rivers. In the battle of Xuanzhou, I conquered the city first. How could it be possible for this woman to kill dozens of thieves with her own hands?"

Then he walked up to a forbidden soldier and "borrowed his sword."

The Imperial Guard held the handle of the knife tightly and looked at Li Junxian.

Seeing Li Junxian nodding, he presented the sword.

Lu Zushang drew his sword and took a look at it. He praised it and said: "A good sword, a blood-drinking sword." Then he cut himself with the sword.

Lu Fu hugged Lu Zushang's body and cried loudly.

The Imperial Guard stepped forward to take the Hengdao, breathed again, and nodded to Li Junxian.

"My condolences", Li Junxian glanced at the magnificent Lu Mansion, turned around and left.

Fresh clothes and angry horses, young handsome men, young good generals... these words are no exaggeration to describe Lu Zushang.

At the age of 19, he gathered troops to revolt, separatist a state, and was conferred the title of Shen Guogong by the puppet king Shichong. Later, he fought in the Jianghuai River and became famous in the world.

It's just that he will be arrogant and challenge the imperial power after all, otherwise his future will be unlimited.

When Li Junxian returned to Ganlu Hall to resume his life, Li Shimin was silent for a while, and then only said, "I understand."

After Li Junxian hesitated for a moment, he told the truth about Zhou Fan's trip to the Lu Mansion. Li Shimin was slightly startled and just waved his hand to signal.

"Xuanzhengshitang...", after a long time, Li Shimin suddenly said, and then he stopped mid-sentence and said, "Xuanzhengshitang."

Li Shimin went directly to the political hall. After taking his seat, he saw four prime ministers gathered here. Li Shimin couldn't help but be a little surprised.The political affairs hall is permanently located in the Menxia Province. Logically speaking, if there is no political discussion, Shangshu Zuopushe and Zhongshu Ling should be in Shangshu Province and Zhongshu Province. Since the four of them are gathered together, they must be discussing politics.

"Everyone is gathered together, don't know what is being discussed?" Li Shimin picked up the tea cup and laughed softly: "It's a coincidence that I came to take a look on a whim. Let's talk about it."

Gao Junya lowered his head and lowered his eyebrows. As the chief official of the sect's province, his servant Gao Shilian was the first to respond.

"Your Majesty, Lu Jiliang disobeyed the decree and has been punished. I am here to discuss who is suitable to succeed the governor of Jiaozhou." Gao Shilian did not hide anything and told the truth.

But after the words fell, there was a moment of silence. Fang Xuanling looked up at Gao Shilian, and the hands in his sleeves could not help but tighten slightly, and then continued: "Exactly, your majesty, the important place in Jiaozhou cannot be ignored. The position of governor is also important." We need to make a decision sooner."

Li Shimin's face was expressionless, showing no sadness or joy. He just nodded slightly and looked at the four people.

"Gentlemen, who is in charge of this discussion?" Li Shimin leaned forward slightly and asked in a deep voice.

Gao Junya was the first to hand over his hand and said, "Your Majesty, I'm in charge."

Li Shimin nodded slightly, "Then who does Gao Xianggong think is suitable?"

After hearing this, the expressions of the other three people present also changed, and they all looked at Gao Junya.

Gao Junya's face did not change, and her voice was as steady as ever, "Returning to your majesty, after discussion, Li Daliang, the governor of Yuezhou, is the most suitable."

"Li Daliang?" Li Shimin raised his eyebrows, then clapped his hands and praised: "Very good, Mr. Gao is loyal to the country, his eyes are like a torch."

Li Daliang was also the founding general of the People's Republic of China. His great-grandfather Li Yan was an official in the Later Wei Dynasty, reaching the rank of Duzhi Shangshu, and his father Li Chongjie served as the general manager of Shuozhou in the Sui Dynasty.

After Li Yuan took charge of Guanzhong, Li Daliang came all the way from Luoyang and made many meritorious deeds. After conquering Fugong Zhe, he was promoted to the governor of Yuezhou based on his merits.

Whether in terms of qualifications, achievements, or abilities, Li Daliang is more than qualified to serve as the governor of Jiaozhou, and there is absolutely no objection.

It can be seen that Gao Junya and others are absolutely public-minded when discussing this matter.

On the other hand, Li Daliang is from Jingyang, Guanzhong, and belongs to a wealthy family in Guanxi. He has no connection with Gao Junya, Fang Xuanling and others who were born in Guandong. In terms of political stance, they are even on the opposite side. This is Li Shimin admired the reasons for being loyal to the public and supporting the country.

Then Li Shimin made a decision directly without any hesitation or discussion.

"By decree, Li Daliang, the governor of Yuezhou, was transferred to the governor of Yuezhou and was given the title of male of Wuyang County."

Everyone complied.

Li Shimin patted his clothes, stood up and walked to Gao Junya. Looking at Gao Junya's slightly gray beard and hair, he sincerely sighed: "Time is not forgiving."

Then strode away.

"Mr. Gao," Fang Xuanling said eagerly, "Why...why is this so?"

"You're hiding it from us all," Xiao Yu shook his head and smiled bitterly.

Gao Junya waved his hand, looked at the three people present, nodded and sighed: "What the Holy One said is true, time is not forgiving."

"You...have thought about it a long time ago?" Gao Shilian asked with a complex look on his face, but also felt bitter in his heart. He just made a blunt statement and directly handed over Gao Junya, his uncle of the same clan.

Gao Junya just patted Gao Shilian on the shoulder and said, "Don't think too much."

Then he solemnly bowed his hands to the three of them and said "goodbye".

The three of them tidied up their clothes and said a deep farewell.

Gao Junya twisted his beard and smiled, turned around and left.

Three days later, a decree caused a huge shock in the court. Shangshu Zuopushe, the Prime Minister of the court, Gao Junya, Duke of Zhao, resigned from office.

There was a lot of discussion in the government and the public, and soon it was rumored that Gao Junya had guessed the emperor's heart, which made the emperor furious, so he was dismissed from office.

But an imperial edict came immediately to dispel people's doubts.

Zhao Guogong Gaojun Yagong was loyal to the country. He was awarded the title of Taiwei and worshiped as the pastor of Yongzhou.

As soon as the imperial edict came out, another uproar was caused, and another three princes were born in the Tang Empire.

The three princes, namely Taiwei, Situ, and Sikong, were ranked in the first rank, and their status and rank were equivalent to that of princes and princesses.

In the ten years since the founding of the Tang Dynasty, there has only been one Three Dukes, and that is the Supreme Emperor's close friend - Duke of Wei, Pei Ji. Everyone in the government and the public, whether prime minister or prince, calls him Pei Sikong respectfully.

This was after the Changlin Gate Palace incident. Li Yuan knew that he had lost power, so he gave this old friend his last gift.

However, now, the emperor has once again conferred upon one of the Three Dukes, the first-rank official, whose status and rank are equal to those of the prince, that is, Taiwei Gao Junya.

What's more, there is Yongzhou Mu, the capital of the Tang Dynasty, the former Sui Dynasty Zhaoyin, whose power is extraordinary.

After the founding of the Tang Dynasty, Li Yuan changed the name of Jingzhaoyin to Yongzhou Mu, which was also the only state pastor in the world. The supervisors of other local states were named "Provincial Governors". Only the land in the capital was named "Mu".

In other prefectures and counties, even the governor of Shangzhou was only ranked in the third rank, while the Yongzhou Mu was ranked in the second rank to highlight its special status.

In the 13th year of Daye, on the ninth day of the eleventh month, Li Yuan captured Chang'an, and then made Yang You emperor. On the fifteenth day of the eleventh month, Li Yuan was granted the title of King of Tang Dynasty.

The Li family officially established its foothold in Guanzhong, and then promoted officials and nobles.

The key to Jinyang's army was Li Shimin. Li Shimin's ability was obvious to all, so many civil and military officials asked Li Shimin to be their governor.

It's just that Li Yuan was clever. While re-employing his eldest son Li Jiancheng, he kept making promises to Li Shimin. He also promised in public that Li Shimin would be crown prince.

Considering that the world was uncertain and surrounded by wolves, Li Shimin had no intention of competing for the throne, so he had to resign.

Historical records record: "When I became the king of Tang Dynasty, the generals and assistants also asked the people to be the princes. The generals established him, but the people just said so."

Li Yuan was delighted to see Li Shimin give up his position as the crown prince, and immediately expressed his generous reward and worshiped Li Shimin as the shepherd of Yongzhou (formerly Zhaoyin of Sui Dynasty).

Historical records: "On November 22, Jisi, Yijian became the prince of Tang Dynasty, the people of the world were named Duke of Qin in Jingzhao Yin, and Yuan Ji was named Duke of Qi."

The land of Yongzhou covers almost the entire capital area, extending from Wugong to the west, Hu County to the south, Sanyuan to the north, and Weinan to the east. It also governs Chang'an and Wannian counties where the capital is located, totaling [-] squares.

His powers and responsibilities were as great as those of Zaifu. The only Yongzhou Mu in the Tang Dynasty, that is, the first Yongzhou Mu was Li Shimin.

As a maternal relative and the Queen's direct uncle, Gao Shilian only served as the governor of Yongzhou before Li Shimin ascended the throne.

Yang Gongren defeated the Turks in Liangzhou. After returning to the court, he served as the Secretary of the Zhongshu Ling, as well as the Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, and the governor of Liangzhou. He had multiple official positions in one person, which can be said to be extremely powerful. However, after Li Shimin ascended the throne, he was granted the position of inspector of Yongzhou. It can be seen from this that other so-called official positions were removed.

I originally thought that the Gao family in Bohai was declining from its peak, and many officials in Guanxi secretly celebrated it, but they didn't expect that the Gao family would still be favored.

Yongzhou Mu, Taiwei, and Zhao Guogong were both noble and elegant.

The governor of Guangzhou, the champion general, and the Duke of Yan rushed high.

The father and son are still strong, the flag of Kantung is still not there, and the leader of Kantung still has the surname Gao.

Not to mention the Gao clan members such as Gao Shilian, the imperial censor, Gao Jifu, the governor of Xinzhou, and Gao Biaoren, the governor of Xinzhou.

After the news of Gao Junya's resignation as prime minister, two decrees were issued quietly.

First, Lu Zushang was posthumously given the posthumous title of Governor of Yingzhou, with the posthumous title "Gang", that is: "Gang" is the name of "Gang" after complementing the past; "Gang" is the name of "Gang" if he kills the enemy; "Gang" is the name of being strong and capable of cutting off; "Gang" is the name of being strong, righteous and decisive.

Secondly, the death penalty must be strictly enforced by the "Three Repeat Memorials". The death penalty must be "three complex memorials" by officials from three provinces and then handed over to the emperor for judgment.

　After two weeks of rest, I almost died.

　　I just took Cephalosporin, I feel dizzy and don't know what to say, I went to bed, I will get up early tomorrow to move bricks, and I will continue to update tomorrow night, Oli, come on!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)