Elegy of Tang Dynasty

Chapter 178

Zheng Shuqing was almost blocked in the Yamen for a whole day by those "petitioning" victims of old cases.

It was not until nearly half an hour before the curfew that the soldiers of Jinwu Guard arrived belatedly and dispersed the crowd.Immediately, the people from Jinwu Guard also left.

What is flexible law enforcement is vividly demonstrated by people like them.

But Zheng Shuqing had nothing to say.Although these bad moves are indeed despicable, they are still within the basic framework of the court's political struggle. Even if Li Longji knew about it, he would not say anything.

If you want to blame it, blame it on the Jingzhao Mansion Yamen itself for not doing enough.Precisely because I have accumulated too many troubles in the past, it is unexpected and reasonable for others to cause trouble for me now.

Having said that, although the Jingzhao Mansion Yamen is in dire straits now, the current situation of Jinwu Guard is not much better. The two families seem to be a pair of brothers in need.

The Jinwu Guard is indeed one of the imperial guards that existed since the founding of the Tang Dynasty, but compared with other sibling units of the "Sixteen Guards of Nanya", it has the dual identity of the emperor's forbidden army and the imperial court's forbidden army.

In other words, when the emperor has orders, the Jinwu Guards obey the emperor.

If the emperor said that he would let the central court command the Jinwu Guards, or if he did not make his position clear, then they would listen to the prime minister.

With an establishment of only 1000 people, Jinwuwei is just a tool manipulated by political forces!

Their political status and situation in the late Kaiyuan and Tianbao years were also very embarrassing.

Speaking of closeness, Li Longji's personal army is the Longwu Army, which has the nature of a "private guard". Li Longji is appointed and dismissed by himself without the approval of Zhongshu's subordinates.

Speaking of strength, there are only 1000 Jinwu Guards.Not only that, because of the decline of the Fubing system, the soldiers came from the Nanya Sixteenth Guards of the Fubing, and the size of the establishment was also cut down again and again.

The strength of the army depends first on the size of the establishment.Obviously, the Jinwu Guards could only consist of two battalions of the Tang Dynasty border army (each battalion had 500 people and one camp leader), so it was not considered a strong army.

Speaking of the level of elites, most of the people in the Jinwu Guard were abandoned sons of officials who did not study, and their martial arts skills were mediocre.That's what it seems like on weekdays. The quality of the soldiers is probably due to the fact that their mothers are pretty girls, and they are all handsome and attractive.The armor of Jinwu Guard is also very sophisticated and beautiful, so if you stand over there, you will see that it looks really human-like.

But appearance is their only advantage.

Left Prime Minister Zhang Shougui asked the Jinwu Guards to deliberately let go of the defense around the Jingzhao Mansion Yamen, and they had no choice but to do so.

This move is to force Zheng Shuqing to resign and apologize!
Otherwise, with this person's thick skin, as long as Brother Ji doesn't remove him, he will dare to stay in Jing Zhaoyin's position!

……

However, just as the situation in Chang'an City was turbulent, the hunting team in Zhongnan Mountain was booming, creating a lively and harmonious atmosphere.

Needless to say, Brother Ji takes the lead in playing. He plays polo, shoots slingshots, and rides horses every day. It seems that he has returned to the prosperous days when he was the king of Linzi.

"Okay, that's a good shot!"

It was just in the morning, and Li Longji was watching people playing polo on the sidelines. Li Heng's third son, Li Tan, galloped on his horse and hit a very tricky shot.Seeing this scene, Brother Ji shouted loudly, and Li Heng's sons, such as Li Chu (Li Yu), Li Xi and others, all applauded immediately.

Li Longji's other sons, such as Li Wan, Li Yuan, Li Can and others, also looked on with smiles on the sidelines.

At least this scene appears to be extremely harmonious and energetic.

However, Brother Ji didn't want to know, nor did he care, what the many princes and grandsons present were thinking.

Only the loyal king Li Heng looked calm at the scene. He couldn't be said to be happy at all, and certainly couldn't be said to be sad. It seemed a bit like "happiness and anger cannot be expressed in color".

The old god is like a stranger.

Li Longji glanced at Li Heng, feeling unhappy.When I think about Princess Zhong Wei's incident, I feel even more disgusting.

He waved to Gao Lishi and said in a low voice: "Let King Zhong organize the camping and meals tonight."

After a while, Gao Lishi came back and bowed deeply to Li Longji.Sure enough, the eyesore Li Heng had already obeyed the order and gone far away.

After the eyesore was gone, Li Longji's mood suddenly improved. He squinted at the sweating emperors and grandchildren on the polo field, and felt that time flies like an arrow.

In the blink of an eye, he will reach the end of his life.

Time flies so fast, and the years in this world are so short. Damn it, why can’t I live a long life?

Li Longji felt bursts of sadness and melancholy in his heart.

He already owns the world, everything is his, except time!
At this moment, an officer dressed as a Jinwu Guard galloped over on horseback and was led to Li Longji.In front of Brother Ji, the man handed a certain piece of white jade pendant to Gao Lishi and said the words "the richest man in Chang'an".

Hearing this, Gao Lishi suddenly realized, and immediately grabbed the man and asked, "Did Fang Chongyong be caught in Jinwuwei Yamen?"

"Hui General Gao, it's true."

"Stand aside and take orders."

Gao Lishi waved his hand and sent the Jinwu Guards officer away, then walked up to Li Longji and handed Fang Chongyong's piece of milky white jade from the Western Regions to the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty.

"Isn't this the reward given to Fang Chongyong during the great victory in Hexi a few years ago? Why is it here?"

Li Longji asked doubtfully.

He didn't know many things very well. Gao Lishi was taking care of them, so he only asked for a rough idea.

"Back to the saint, when Fang Chongyong was in Hexi, he was doing some business. Among them, the Wang family and his son from Chang'an accounted for a large part."

Gao Lishi said calmly.

There are so many people here, and there are so many confidential things that just stop here.

Sure enough, Li Longji understood and nodded slightly.He thought for a while, lowered his voice and asked, "How much did Fang Chongyong take from it?"

"Back to the saint, he only received a salary from the court."

Hearing this, Brother Ji was stunned for a moment, and then asked: "Then what is he trying to do?"

Not only was he unclear, but even Gao Lishi had only a partial understanding of it.

Gao Lishi crossed his hands and saluted Li Longji and said: "Back to the saint, I don't know, but it is true that he didn't take it. The accounts are all clear."

"That's right. What could he, a child, do with so much money?"

Li Longji nodded slightly, seeming to understand Fang Chongyong's thoughts.

If you don’t have the strength to protect yourself, then don’t run around with a box full of gold and silver. The idiom that a man is not guilty but only carries a treasure is already very popular!And if you want to protect yourself on the Hexi side, all you need is the army!

Fang Chongyong is a teenager. How can he become an army? How can he afford to support an army?
"I heard that there is a lot of fighting in Chang'an City now."

Li Longji suddenly mentioned an "interesting" thing.

Gao Lishi replied: "It is true. Jingzhao Prefecture Yin arrested Zhang Xi, the son of Zhang Yi, the censor Zhongcheng, on the grounds of imperial examination fraud. And the victims of unsolved cases in the past of Jingzhao Prefecture Yamen are blocking the Yamen to cause trouble for Zheng Shuqing .”

"Hehe, it's fun to watch when the fight is lively. If there's no fight, it's boring."

Li Longji touched the white beard on his chin with interest, not thinking that there was anything strange about these nonsense.

Political struggles are all trivial matters. Li Linfu and Zhang Shougui have now restrained themselves.

"The left prime minister was born in the military, and he is a bit violent in his actions..."

Gao Lishi suggested calmly.

"It's true, Fang Chongyong works for me. Although he has come back now, the business routes he established back then are still intact.

How could he be arrested and sent to Jinwuwei Yamen just because he was fighting for power with the right prime minister? He is not a member of the right prime minister. "

Li Longji nodded slightly and said slightly dissatisfied.

"What the sage said is absolutely true. After hearing that Fang Chongyong resigned from the official position, he prepared to participate in the imperial examination..."

Gao Lishi continued to add fuel to the fire.This is the power of personal eunuchs like them. If they often say good or bad things about someone in front of the emperor, the emperor will naturally have a corresponding impression of that person.

These are all human feelings.

"This young man from Fang Quanzhong's family is very interesting! Hahahahaha!"

Li Longji seemed to have thought of something funny. He clapped his hands and said to Gao Lishi: "If he wants to play, I will play with him. This time I will choose him as the top pick."

It's okay to ride a horse!
Gao Lishi was frightened and couldn't figure out what Li Longji's thinking was now.The other party's current thinking is as if he has rejuvenated his youth.

I am not as steady as before in doing things, but I have a mentality of "just have fun and don't be afraid of big troubles".

"Sage, the imperial examination is to select talents for the country, and the system is..."

Gao Lishi suggested in a low voice.

Li Longji waved his hand boredly and said:

"To be able to serve as the governor of Shazhou safely for four years, and to keep the house open at night and to have good trade routes, can this be called a lack of talent?
He has already proven his ability in Hexi. I also know about the imperial examination, and you also know. Isn't it obvious who is a talent and who is not? "

Hearing this, Gao Lishi was so frightened that he fell to the ground and begged for mercy!

Li Longji helped him up and continued:

"Fang Chongyong is very capable as an official and has a strong ability to do things, but he has no ability at all in taking exams.

I just want to see what kind of trouble this troublesome guy like him can cause this time. "

Li Longji sneered.

Zhang Yi's son Zhang Shi actually went around claiming that he had passed the imperial examination, and he hadn't even taken the exam yet!When he saw the dossier sent by Li Linfu, Li Longji was almost furious and dismissed Zhang Yi from office.

Still he held back.

Because Zhang Yi certainly has selfish motives, but Li Linfu is not a good bird, and Zhang Shougui is not a fuel-efficient lamp.

I heard that when Zhang Shougui was in power in Hexi, he acquiesced to his subordinate Qiu Ba Minghuo's plundering and coming of Hu merchants!

That's almost an open secret.

This man is ruthless and evil, and he is the same as Li Linfu.

Although he left Chang'an City, Li Longji had been sending people to closely monitor the movements inside and outside the city to ensure that the battle between the two prime ministers and the various forces would not get out of control.

"Let Zhang Yi, the censor Zhongcheng, be responsible for investigating cases related to the imperial examination. Let Zheng Shuqing release Zhang Xi and keep the others in custody."

With a wave of his hand, Li Longji wiped out most of the "phased results" achieved by Right Prime Minister Li Linfu, and also gave Zhang Yi the power to investigate the imperial examination case from Li Linfu.

Well, Zhang Yi is the Yushi Zhongcheng, an official of the Yushitai. It is his job to detect lawlessness. It is indeed reasonable to investigate whether the officials who organized the imperial examination have committed fraud.

But in this way, wouldn't the situation in Chang'an be more favorable to Left Prime Minister Zhang Shougui?
Gao Lishi was a little confused and didn't know what to say.

It stands to reason that the detention of Fang Chongyong was actually a slap in the face to Li Longji.Although Zhang Shougui may have acted because he didn't know the inside story, Li Longji should still have beaten him!

But now it seems that Ji Ge’s idea is not that simple.

"Lishi, please take the trouble to go to the Jinwu Guard Yamen to convey the decree and let Fang Chongyong serve as the Zhonglang General of the Zuo Jinwu Guard."

Li Longji dropped another bombshell!
Gao Lishi was shocked speechless!
"The governor is a fourth-rank official, and the general of the Jinwu Guard is also a fourth-rank official. They are just average. Do you think there is a problem with it?"

Seeing Gao Lishi not moving, Li Longji asked with a smile.

Of course there is no problem, but Zheng Shuqing is also a third-grade Jingzhao Prefecture Yin, so why is he always bullied!
It's not because the official position does not represent authority, but they are both third-grade officials, so the articles in it are huge.

General Jinwu, the lieutenant general of the Jinwu Guard, is a "super-rank official" who can be looked at with squinting eyes in Chang'an City. Within the three-thirds of an acre of Chang'an City, his actual power is far greater than that of the governor, who is also a fourth-rank official!

The setting of official positions in Jinwu Guard actually followed the Tang Dynasty's principle of setting up official positions that "should not be suitable for people". It can be said that there are "lots of agencies" in it, leaving many big holes.

On the surface, the official rank of General Zuo Jinwu Guard should be higher than that of General Zuo Jinwu Guard Zhonglang.However, the former is an official position held concurrently by a border town general or a Jiedushi envoy, and those who hold the official position are not in Chang'an.

And the latter is the real commander of Chang'an Jinwu Guard!
One on the left and one on the right, two Zhonglang generals, each in charge of 500 people.Usually one is in charge of the imperial city and the other is in charge of the outer city, changing defenses regularly.

"Back to the Saint, Fang Chongyong is still relatively inexperienced, will he... cause trouble?"

Gao Lishi asked with some uncertainty.In fact, the person currently serving as General Zuo Jinwu Guard is none other than Wang Zhongsi, Fang Chongyong’s prospective father-in-law!
Theoretically speaking, just taking charge of him can be regarded as a strange pair of official appointments.

Gao Lishi kept a sullen face and almost stopped laughing.

Li Longji waved his hand and said: "Go and deliver the order, tell Ge Nu, and we'll just go through the formalities."

He didn't explain much about why he played it this way.

In fact, any appointment to an official position above the sixth rank needs to be drafted by the prime minister first, approved by Ji Ge, and then sent to the province for approval. Only after all procedures have been completed can it be issued as an edict.

However, no one can stop Brother Ji from being strong in personnel appointments. That is to say, Zhang Jiuling dared to challenge Brother Ji back then!
"Then what should we do with Li Mi, the current Zhonglang general of Zuo Jinwu's guard?"

Gao Lishi asked a very crucial question.

Li Mi has been in the army for many years and is almost 50 years old this year. It can be said that he has been a veteran of Tianbao since the early Kaiyuan years.

"After moving to serve as the censor and leaving Jiannan Dao, let him go to Chengdu to take up his post."

Li Longji waved his hand and gave Li Mi a real job in the border town.

……

"Fang Shijun, have you thought about it? What about your proposal?"

Zhang Xiancheng looked at Fang Chongyong with a calm face and asked in a certain signing room of the Jinwu Guard Yamen in Chang'an Imperial City.

"Is the money from Hexi Commercial Road really that important to you?"

Fang Chongyong couldn't help but ask.

"The money is not for me, but for...that's all. There's nothing to say. Zheng Shuqing was so scared that he didn't dare to go out of the Yamen today. It's not that safe outside.

You should continue to stay here. When the saint comes back, you can go back.You can take your time thinking about this, I can afford to wait. "

Zhang Xiancheng sighed helplessly.

"You can't own something that doesn't exist in the first place. I have already said that the so-called shares are all made up by your own imagination."

Fang Chongyong also sighed helplessly, why is it that Zhang Yanei is unwilling to listen when he tells the truth?

"That's enough! Don't treat me like a fool! Some of the money I calculated is missing. It could only be you who took it!"

Zhang Xiancheng suddenly became furious and shouted at Fang Chongyong.

At this moment, the firelight outside the door was swaying, and there were crowds of people, as if many people were coming here.

"Zhang Xiancheng, you joined the army as Zuojinwu Guards Recorder, why don't you stay where you are doing your errands? What are you doing here late at night?"

A middle-aged general with a frown on his face, wearing a Jinwu Guard uniform but no armor, pointed at Zhang Xiancheng and scolded him in an unhappy manner.

He is Li Mi, the general of Zuo Jinwu's guard.

Behind him, there was a smiling Gao Lishi, who was nodding lightly to the other party Zhongyong.

(End of this chapter)