Early Tang Dynasty: forge ahead

Chapter 411: Strike first to gain the upper hand

After Xu Jingzong finished his long speech, it was Chen Qingsi's turn to express his opinion.

Chen Qingsi has always been weak in rules and etiquette. In this era, there are many things that need to be studied and learned. Etiquette is something that you only need to understand enough to use. It is too complicated to study in depth, and most people cannot use it.

Chen Qingsi has no plans to develop into the Ministry of Rites.

Regarding this envoy, Chen Qingsi was blinded. In the past few days, he found some information and made up for it.

But facing Xu Jingzong's humanoid database, Chen Qingsi was too lazy to do anything.

"I have heard about Xianggong Xu's erudition for a long time, but I can see it today."

Chen Qingsi said: "I am the youngest, so I have to do the hardest work. The matter of enshrining Zen is a big matter, and the details are complicated and complex. It is difficult to cover everything by just relying on memory. After all, not everyone is so fair. That way, you’ll never forget it.”

"After I go back next time, based on the suggestions of the envoys, I will summarize an outline manual, sort out the key issues, and refine the division of labor so that the complicated things can be understood at a glance, so that it can be implemented easily by the people below."

Usually this kind of summary and recording requires complicated documents to be drafted and sorted out...

In addition to Chen Qingsi, Xu Jingzong, who has the lowest status among the three, also has the power to open a house and recruit talents. They all have each other's clerks to help with such trivial matters.

However, the three of them are all talented people. Since Chen Qingsi personally proposed to sort it out, it is not something that can be done by just writing.

All three of them knew Chen Qingsi's abilities.

Li Ji also gave Chen Qingsi face and said: "In that case, we will come here today. When Mr. Chen has sorted out the outline, we will discuss the details."

Organizing outlines is Chen Qingsi's specialty.

The method of recording savings in copywriting documents in this era is still very rigid.

It is a pure record, complicated and not concise enough. All the questions are piled together in words, let alone summarized and organized in the form of written tables.

When Chen Qingsi started making watches, she secretly felt lucky that she had come from the past. In the early years, technology was not yet developed, so all documents had to be written manually. In the later days, when computers became more popular, all kinds of documents could be opened on the computer, and there was no way to prepare them.

Chen Qingsi only used five days of free time to compile a set of detailed tables. From top to bottom, he summarized the entire Feng Chan process into the process tables.

He wrote the process form on a large piece of silk cloth, and it was densely packed with every step from the presentation to the end of the ceremony.

Li Ji does not go to court now and spends most of his time at home cultivating. Only at critical moments will he go to the temple when Li Zhi calls him.

Chen Qingsi directly brought the silk and cloth form to see Li Ji at the British government palace.

Li Ji saw Chen Qingsi holding a large bundle of silk cloth in his hand, and said with some expectation: "Let me see what Mr. Chen's outline manual is."

Chen Qingsi asked someone to find a shelf and said: "There are too many contents in Feng Chan, so I have to hang it up and read it."

Li Ji said: "It's simple. There is no shortage of airs in the house."

Li Ji was a master of military affairs. He rarely looked at various maps, and the shelf with large maps was indispensable in his house.

A silk cloth three meters long and two meters wide was hung in the lobby.

Li Ji looked at a table he had never seen before, and looked at the simple and clear distribution of tasks on the table.

This well-informed veteran looked at the silk cloth, then at Chen Qingsi, and said: "Ms. Xu's erudition is amazing, and Mr. Chen's hard work is even more amazing. With this outline manual, The complicated Feng Chan is so easy to see at a glance. Just assign the tasks to each department according to the table. It's really amazing to see what went wrong and who is responsible..."

Chen Qingsi said: "Li Yinggong was ridiculous, this is just the first draft. Many details need to be considered."

Li Jidao: "Take your time. Conferring Zen is a big deal, don't rush it. The outline will stay here. Tomorrow, I will invite Prince Zheng and Mr. Xu to the house to discuss the form together."

Chen Qingsi plans to resign.

But Li Ji held him back and said, "Don't leave in a hurry. Come and have a drink with me. Alas, I'm getting older, and my friends around me have passed away one by one, and I can't find anyone who can drink with me. It's rare to come here today." I’m interested, sir, don’t refuse.”

Chen Qingsi said: "It is a great blessing to be able to have a drink with the Young Master and listen to his teachings! How dare you disobey..."

The two of them had a drink and chatted about the past and present.

From the famous generals of Qin and Han Dynasties to the generals of Sui and Tang Dynasties, from Sun Wu and Han Bai to Wei Huo Erli.

Er Li is not Li Ji. One thing to say is that he is not qualified.

The two Lis are Li Shimin and Li Jing, the two most capable fighters in the early Tang Dynasty.

As Li Ji got older, he reminisced about the past and talked more.

Chen Qingsi could hear Li Ji's yearning for the past and his admiration for the late emperor from Li Ji's words and deeds.

Chen Qingsi also felt a little emotional. After so many years, the founding father in front of him still recalled Li Shimin. How charming was that Tian Khan?

It's a pity that I haven't been able to see him in this life.

"Mr. Chen..."

Li Ji suddenly shouted.

Chen Qingsi looked at Li Ji, as if he was all ears.

Li Ji said: "There is an old saying that goes like this: once the emperor is the emperor, there is only one minister. I think that if you want to truly survive in the turbulent battles, you have to rely on yourself. As long as you are strong, you will be like Wei Gong and stand on the throne." invincible position."

What kind of person is Li Ji? How can we not see that because of Li Zhi's physical problems, various forces are ready to take action overtly or covertly?

There is no chaos now because Li Zhi is supporting us. Once Li Zhi is gone, the temple will be in chaos.

At that time, all kinds of monsters and monsters will appear.

Li Ji didn't know how long Li Zhi could hold on, nor how long he, who was nearly seventy, could live.

The British government is deeply favored by the emperor. If there is any sudden change, it will be impossible to hide even if it wants to.

None of his sons are really promising, and they can easily be taken advantage of.

The eldest grandson Xu Jingye, the only one who has some sense of his own style, is also a bit frivolous, but he is a pioneer general but cannot take on major responsibilities.

If the Li family wants to survive, it must rely on the support of capable people.

Looking at the temple now, only Chen Qingsi is qualified and capable.

Li Ji said this to deepen the relationship and cope with future changes.

Chen Qingsi heard this and understood the other party's goodwill and reminder. He thanked him solemnly and then said: "Chen, a commoner, was appointed by Your Majesty under special circumstances, so that he has the status he has today. No matter what the situation is, I will always follow Your Majesty." "

Li Ji was not surprised by Chen Qingsi's choice. How could he not see Chen Qingsi's political vision? If he was really opportunistic and wanted to bet on the prince or a certain prince in advance, he would not have said what he said today.

"I have a beloved grandson named Li Jingye. He is much more capable than Cheng Da'er's grandson. You can keep in touch. If you have any questions or problems, you can also come to see me. I am still a bit thin-faced."

Chen Qingsi hurriedly bowed: "Thank you, Mr. Ying." After walking out of the British Duke's mansion, Chen Qingsi was drunk and returned after stepping on the moon, humming "Tuba is China" softly.

"My child, this is your home, the courtyard is elegant..."

As a military boss, Li Ji keeps saying he is not involved in politics, but every step he takes in political alignment is crucial.

Presumably, he had anticipated that the temple would undergo changes in the future, so he would plan ahead for the Li family.

But no matter how great Li Ji was, he would never have thought that the change was due to Queen Wu, let alone that his Li family would be destroyed because of Queen Wu.

But now, if Empress Wu wants to succeed, she has to ask him first.

Returning to the Chen family, Chen Qingsi washed away the smell of alcohol and looked at Xiao Miaochen's "living father" son who was about to sleep, and had to find a way to separate them.

The next day, the second round of Fengchan meeting was held at the British government palace.

The British duke hung up the silk cloth early.

Li Yuanli and Xu Jingzong looked at the silk cloth outline and were so shocked that they were speechless for a long time.

The two of us looked at each other in a moment of silence.

Li Ji's laughter broke the silence and said: "What, are you dumbfounded? When Mr. Chen sent the outline yesterday, I was the same. Young people are terrible. King Zheng and Mr. Xu will not be able to stand up to me until they grow old... …”

Li Ji is still very considerate and doesn't hesitate to praise.

Li Yuanli was amazed and praised him.

Xu Jingzong felt a little uncomfortable. In the previous meeting, he had taken the lead. His purpose was to turn his back on the guests and become the leading figure in this ceremony, so that he could look good in front of the emperor Li Zhi.

He knew that Li Zhi attached great importance to this Feng Chan, and as long as he could perform well in the Feng Chan, his position would be more consolidated.

Unexpectedly, Chen Qingsi actually drew this form and wrote down the entire Feng Chan process in a format that can be seen at a glance, stealing the limelight.

For a moment, Xu Jingzong regretted it and had the idea that Chen Qingsi should be killed when he first entered the capital.

Xu Jingzong always thought that no matter how outstanding Chen Qingsi was, he would not be a threat to him. He would help him more, and when he really rose, he would withdraw, just so that he could reciprocate and help take care of his descendants.

No matter how fast the opponent is promoted, he becomes a very important person in the temple in just a few years, and can even influence and threaten him.

But such thoughts only passed by for a moment. Xu Jingzong said sincerely: "Chen Shangshu is really amazing. With this outline, the great event of becoming a Zen monk is half successful."

As an old politician, Xu Jingzong understands the situation better. He is old after all, and there is no need to risk his family's future to compete with Chen Qingsi.

Since one family cannot dominate alone, let’s share the credit equally.

Chen Qingsi pointed at the silk cloth and said: "The current outline of the process is here. If there is anything that needs to be added, you can add it at any time. I think that the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty today has surpassed that of the Qin and Han Dynasties. All etiquette and laws should not be followed step by step. We have to have Tang's own style. As for the envoy kings of the four barbarians, some of them are allies of our dynasty, and some of them are defeated generals. They should be treated differently. "

The four of them got together, added to it, and temporarily finalized the big process.

Chen Qingsi looked at the three of them, with a bit of a smile on his face, and said: "The process can be added at any time by discovering problems during the implementation, from top to bottom, step by step, until the last step. If there is no objection, Feng Chan's overall The situation can be worked out. Gentlemen, what do you think?"

Li Ji looked at the two crucial character choices on the Fengchan outline not far away: Yaxian and Zhongxian, nodded and said: "It should be so."

Seeing that both Li Yuanli and Xu Jingzong had no objections, he said: "Then we must first select Yaxian and Zhongxian. The most important thing about this matter is that we must consult His Majesty. Tomorrow, the four of us will enter the palace together with Your Majesty will discuss this matter.”

Li Yuanli said: "Good!"

Xu Jingzong looked a little unnatural and said, "That's right."

The corners of Chen Qingsi's lips curled up slightly, her goal achieved.

Historically, the candidates for Yaxian and Zhongxian were not decided prematurely. This also gave Empress Wu room to operate. She successfully obtained the opportunity for Yaxian and became the second best person in the Zen ceremony, second only to Li Zhi, and fought for herself. With huge political chips, she naturally became the Queen of Heaven.

This reward is a watershed moment.

Chen Qingsi first decided on the candidates for Chan Yaxian and Zhongxian, so that Empress Wu lost the opportunity to control them.

After making an appointment to meet the saint, the three of them said goodbye and left together.

Chen Qingsi also went to Chen's residence.

Turned a street...

"Chen Shangshu! Chen Shangshu!"

Chen Qingsi heard someone calling and turned around to see Xu Jingzong holding the car curtain and calling.

When Chen Qingsi saw Xu Jingzong's expression, his thoughts changed, but he smiled knowingly. This qualification of Yaxian and Zhongxian will go down in history.

Empress Wu is not the only one who covets this position.

The same is naturally true for Xu Jingzong. No wonder his expression was a little unnatural when he was in the British government palace.

It turned out that I had this idea.

He turned his horse's head and headed towards Xu Jingzong's carriage.

Xu Jingzong was full of enthusiasm and greeted him with a smile: "Mr. Chen, can I give you a ride?"

"Okay!" Chen Qingsi naturally would not refuse, handed the reins to the guard, and boarded Xu Jingzong's carriage.

Xu Jingzong was extravagant, and his carriage was also extremely luxurious. The interior was made of rare golden nanmu and was lit with ambergris.

"I know Mr. Chen is good at tea. This is Yangxian tea from Mr.'s hometown. How does it taste, sir?"

Chen Qingsi immediately looked flattered, took the tea soup from Xu Jingzong, smelled the tea, took a sip, it was indeed authentic Yangxian tea, one of the best, and said: "The soup is clear, fragrant, The taste is mellow, and it is indeed the taste of hometown. Mr. Xu is thoughtful..."

Xu Jingzong said: "I have a student who happens to be working in Changzhou. I know that Mr. Zhi loves tea, so he brought it here from Yixing County."

As he spoke, he pushed a large gift box on the side towards Chen Qingsi.

Chen Qingsi was not polite and accepted it gratefully.

Sure enough, Xu Jingzong said soon, "I will meet with the Holy Spirit tomorrow to discuss the candidates for Yaxian and Zhongxian. Sir, is there anyone you like?"

Chen Qingsi murmured in her heart: "As long as it's not Empress Wu, a dog will do."

Seeing Xu Jingzong pretending to be careless, Chen Qingsi said: "According to the ancient system, Yaxian and Zhongxian were appointed as ministers. Looking at the ministers of the Manchu Dynasty, in terms of merit and qualifications, only Mr. Ying and Mr. Xu are the most qualified. "

Xu Jingzong was somewhat satisfied, but also somewhat dissatisfied.

Chen Qingsi then said: "If I am asked to recommend you, I should recommend Xianggong Xu. I dare not forget the kindness of helping each other in the past..."

(End of this chapter)