Early Tang Dynasty: forge ahead

Chapter 455 Too Calm
Chen Qingsi was indeed right. Li Zhi was not a benevolent emperor who loved his people, but a heroic ruler with deep scheming.

Li Zhi was born into a royal family. He was the only prince of the Tang Dynasty who was personally raised by the emperor. He followed Li Shimin from a young age and naturally learned a lot from his father. Especially responsibility...

Everyone says Li Zhi is weak and benevolent?

But what about the facts?

What does a truly weak and benevolent Confucian look like?
Liu Chan is the best example!

One used "The Memorial to the Emperor on Leaving the Capital" as a strategy. Which of the outstanding talents mentioned in "The Memorial to the Emperor on Leaving the Capital" was not reused?
And what about Li Zhi?

The civil and military team that Li Shimin left for Li Zhi was nothing short of luxurious.

Li Shimin hoped that his son could recuperate well to make up for the trauma caused by his wars.

But Li Zhi didn't listen at all. In the fourth year after he ascended the throne, he began to compete with the regent ministers. In the sixth year, he killed Zhangsun Wuji and Chu Suiliang, thus taking control of the government. Then he fought wars in the south and the north, conquering the largest territory of the Tang Dynasty.

To achieve such an achievement, how could a "weak and benevolent Confucian" person do it?
Li Zhi was unwilling to be a firefly behind his father, and unwilling to be a reference. He had his own political ambitions, and he wanted to fulfill his father's unfulfilled wish.

Maintain the territory, perform Fengshan, and destroy Goguryeo.

For this reason, after his illness worsened, Li Zhi could not wait to perform the Fengshan ceremony, fearing that he would not have time to fulfill his wish.

Facts proved that he thought too much. The military legacy left to him by Li Shimin would make it easy for him to maintain the territory as long as he did not squander it like Yang Guang.

Fengshan ended perfectly, and Goguryeo became history because of Xue Rengui's two arrows...

Li Zhi's wish was completely fulfilled.

Most people will lose motivation at this point.

It’s just like a classic saying in later generations: After fighting all your life, can’t you enjoy yourself? Keep playing music, keep dancing.

The most classic example is Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, who was the embryo of Emperor Taizong of Tang, but he ruined himself.

Li Zhi in history was actually similar, but he was not decadent and lost his will. Instead, his health was getting worse and worse. He thought he was going to die, so he focused on governing the country. He was unsure of his life span and worried that the prime ministers would bully his son after his death. So he suppressed the prime minister while supporting Empress Wu, asking her to protect the crown prince...

As time went by, although my health did not improve, I lived well...

However, the Queen's power grew stronger and stronger, and the situation reversed.

Then Li Zhi began to suppress the Empress's faction, forcing Empress Wu to poison Helan and forcing Empress Wu to issue an imperial edict to scold her mother, who had depended on her for life, as a beast who committed incest with her grandson, causing the Wu family, the Helan family and Empress Wu to completely break up...

Then he discovered that the prince's power was rising again...

In short, after Li Zhi destroyed Goguryeo, he was busy balancing the political situation and considering the next generation of the Tang Dynasty, and he never did anything outstanding again.

But because of the appearance of Chen Qingsi, Li Zhi encountered the events of the Arab Empire, Persia, and Tocharia before he slacked off.

I know that there will be a war between the Tang Dynasty and the Arab Empire in the near future...

The Arab Empire was far more powerful than any other country he had encountered. Li Zhi was worried that his children would not be able to deal with it. If this trouble was not eliminated, the foundation of three generations of the Tang Dynasty would be in danger of being overthrown.

Thinking about the reputation that would come from defeating the strongest country in the West, Li Zhi had a new goal in his life plan...

Since this broken body is still capable, let's wait until the East-West War is over before dealing with internal affairs.

Li Zhi was not good at military affairs, but he knew how to play to his strengths and avoid his weaknesses.

Li Ji and Su Dingfang were both old. If they wanted to defeat the Arabs, the only person they could rely on and trust was the Minister of War in front of them, whom both Li and Su praised highly.

"In the past, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty conquered the West and conquered thousands of miles of territory in the Western Regions. I am willing to expand the territory beyond the Western Regions for Your Majesty, so that the barbarians in the West can also feel Your Majesty's grace and accept the teachings of Confucius and Mencius."

"it is good!"

A hint of heat also flashed in Li Zhi's eyes. In order to show their benevolence, many emperors were accustomed to praising Emperor Wen of Han and belittling Emperor Wu of Han. But in reality, who doesn't want to be Emperor Wu of Han?
"It is my wish to hear the voice of reciting the Analects in the West. You and I, the ruler and the minister, should encourage each other!"

Chen Qingsi could not have imagined that the influence of the Tang Dynasty had a stress effect on the Arab Empire and also aroused the ambition of Li Zhi, the emperor who should have turned to internal affairs.

With Li Zhi's full support, Chen Qingsi also became ambitious and wanted to confront Tubo and Daqin.

Chen Qingsi walked out of the Taiji Palace with brisk steps. Just as he walked out of the palace, Chen Qingsi suddenly realized something and looked back.

Something seems wrong...

It's a bit too quiet.

So this is the root cause.

Chen Qingsi rode on Guanjun and walked slowly towards the Ministry of War.

After she became a celibate, Empress Wu fell silent and completely depressed.

Before this, the Wu family was very prosperous.

When Yang Lao and Wu Shun went out, they were exaggerated in their pomp and circumstance. In order to win people's hearts, they spent money everywhere, held various banquets and invited scholars to attend. Their every word and action was very ostentatious.

In Luoyang, he restrained his domineering habits, performed many good deeds, and won a lot of good reputation.

As a result, the Wu family has two different reputations in Chang'an and Luoyang...

But without exception, all members of the Wu family are at the forefront of the trend. Even though they have not reached the top, one can often hear them talking about them.

Chen Qingsi's usual work does not allow him to be exposed to gossip, but as the leader of the Qingliu party, he often hears the officials below express their dissatisfaction with Empress Wu and the Wu family during gatherings.

As for the Qingliu, they more or less have some problems of being self-righteous. They cannot stand the Empress Wu who turned against the Tiangang and interfered in politics, nor can they stand the relative Yang who took advantage of her daughter and acted domineeringly. They cannot stand Wu Shun who cheated on her own sister, climbed into Li Zhi's bed, and was ridiculed as a "mistress" by Westerners.

If it were the Zhenguan period, facing an emperor like Li Shimin who was open to advice, these upright officials would have impeached the Wu family and caused them to be beaten to a bloody pulp.

But the current emperor is Li Zhi, a man who likes to smooth things over.

Faced with impeachment, Li Zhi behaved like his father, responding in a nicer manner on the surface, but then ignoring it and even making things worse.

Keep impeaching, once or twice is fine, if it really annoys Li Zhi, he will immediately receive a gift package of transfer, and be transferred away from the capital, so that he can lose sight of it, hear nothing of it, and get out of his mind.

As more and more people fell into the trap, the censors gradually learned their lesson for the sake of their future.

If you can tolerate small things, tolerate them; if you can’t, impeach them.

Usually Li Zhi would express his appreciation with a few words or give some gifts to show that he understood.

As for whether the other party will be punished, it is up to Li Zhi to decide.

If he dealt with it, everyone would be happy. If he ignored it, there would be no need to continue the impeachment, which meant that Li Zhi did not want to deal with the matter at all, so he should not make himself unhappy.

This is a habit, but the unhappiness in my heart must be expressed.

Therefore, at the gatherings of the Qingliu Party, Chen Qingsi could not help but hear some people denouncing the Wu family. But since returning from Fengshan, there were almost no complaints about the Wu family at the gatherings of the Qingliu Party.

Chen Qingsi was busy with the situations in Tubo and Daqin, and did not notice it for a while. Until today, when he entered the palace and saw Empress Wu working on memorials at her desk in Chengqian Hall, he realized that the historical Wu Zetian had faded out of his sight without him noticing.

This is extremely abnormal.

Empress Wu's political ambitions had already aroused Li Zhi, so how could he remain so low-key?

Could it be that the failure of Fengshan destroyed her confidence and made her so depressed?

Chen Qingsi didn't quite believe that Empress Wu could not withstand such a blow.

In terms of blows, Li Zhi's blow to Empress Wu was really fierce. Empress Wu and her mother were bullied by her brothers when she was young, and they depended on each other for survival. As a result, after Yang Lao died, Li Zhi directly forced Empress Wu to write an imperial decree to announce to the world that his mother had committed incest with her own grandson.

If they could endure such a thing, what about the failure of Fengshan?
What kind of medicine is sold in this gourd?

Chen Qingsi muttered to himself, unable to figure it out for a moment, but he had a feeling that this matter was not simple.

"Go back and ask Zhou Kui to investigate the Wu family's situation!"

Chen Qingsi muttered to himself that he had no plans to use Yin Ming to investigate the Wu family.

Yin Ming, the bad commander, has far more power in Chang'an than Zhou Kui, but such a confidential matter has to be left to the person he trusts the most.

But Zhou Kui is in Suzhou now, and he doesn’t know what the situation is there.
-
Suzhou, Hanshan Temple.

Li Dejian finally plucked up the courage to go out and hike with his good friends who were fond of idle talk.

Of course, the main purpose is to find a place with beautiful scenery and few people to take Wu Shi San.

Eating this stuff will make your body hot and you need to take off your clothes to dissipate the heat. If you eat too much, you have to do some exercise to speed up the heat dissipation, otherwise the heat will be trapped in the body and you may easily die.

So in ancient times, if you met someone with his chest and back exposed, or even wearing only shorts, or even completely naked, walking very fast.

There is no doubt that this is the aftereffect of taking too much Wu Shi San, and it is definitely not physical exercise.

Therefore, you have to find a place to take Wu Shi San so as not to be seen by others, just like Li Dejian.

"Brother Li, you and Minister Chen really have no relationship?"

Li Dejian felt helpless when he heard such questions from his friend.

Li Dejian was originally despised by everyone, but Zhou Kui appeared and restored face and justice for him in the name of Chen Qingsi.

Li Dejian suddenly became popular again.

That’s Chen Qingsi!
The current prime minister, the youngest minister, a man of unparalleled talent in both civil and military affairs.

If Chen Qingsi heard such praise, he would definitely blush. No matter how proud he was, he would not dare to compare military skills with real generals like Su Dingfang and Li Ji.

However, most intellectuals love to brag, and they like to brag about what they like.

Chen Qingsi was a scholar, while Su Dingfang and Li Ji were military men. Scholars naturally tend to be more scholarly, so why would they flatter military men for no reason?

Therefore, in the eyes of most literati, Chen Qingsi is the best in both literature and martial arts.

Li Dejian knew that Chen Qingsi was interested in his daughter, but how could he tell this?

Li Dejian wanted to save face, he didn't want anyone to know that as a man, how could he let others know that he was able to turn his life around thanks to his daughter?
What's more, Li Dejian didn't want to climb such a high branch. Although the relationship between father and daughter was not very good, Li Dejian still couldn't bear to see his daughter suffer as a concubine.

Li Dejian was unable to explain the relationship, so he could only make up an excuse and said that Chen Qingsi's elementary school teacher was a former subordinate of his father.

Li Dejian's words failed to convince others. Who would mobilize such a large army for such a reason?

Not only did he restore Li Dejian's freedom, he also helped him vent his anger and taught the Zhang family of Wujun a lesson.

Although the Zhang family of Wujun is not as powerful as they used to be, they still have some background in Jiangnan. Who would offend them for no reason?
But Li Dejian insisted on this statement and people around him could do nothing about it.

Seeing that this issue was brought up again, Li Dejian hesitated for a moment, then said, "That's right. Minister Chen has never been to Suzhou. What does that have to do with it?"

"Then why would he vent his anger on your behalf? And why did he even ask the imperial court to issue an imperial decree to pardon you..."

"Two things. Who said that the court's pardon was arranged by Minister Chen? Maybe they were my father's old subordinates who suddenly remembered my father's kindness? As for venting their anger, they were probably venting their anger for themselves! Everyone knows that Zhang Ling was a toad who wanted to eat swan meat and would not marry anyone other than the Xiao family's lady. As a result, when something happened to her, he didn't dare to take the responsibility. It's not enough that he was a coward, but he also envied Minister Chen because of his kindness. If it were me, the entire Zhang family would suffer."

Speaking of Zhang Ling, Li Dejian couldn't help but be filled with indignation. He brought up his ugly deeds and spoke mockingly.

The other party did not respond, but just smiled awkwardly.

Li Dejian didn't care. After losing his composure once, he didn't dare to take more Wu Shi San. He just exposed his chest and back, but did not lose his rational consciousness.

After today, Li Dejian silently discovered that all his good friends had cut off contact with him.

Because of Chen Qingsi, Li Dejian became a popular guy, but as the days passed.

Li Dejian repeatedly said that it had nothing to do with Chen Qingsi, and repeatedly mentioned Zhang Ling's past.

His friends gradually believed what he said. After all, if it was really related to Chen Qingsi, why was there still no news after so long?

The Zhang family knew that Li Dejian repeatedly brought up Zhang Ling's past. They did not dare to do anything to Li Dejian, but they could isolate Li Dejian through various means.

They are just a group of idle literati with no real industry. How can they have any moral integrity?

As a result, Li Dejian’s scandal was repeatedly brought up and hyped in Suzhou City, but no one had any contact with him, and he once again fell into a socially dead situation.

This sudden drop in status made Li Dejian very crazy. After being neglected for more than ten years, he suddenly returned to the days of being the center of attention. He regained the feeling of being the eldest son of Duke Wei and thought he should enjoy such treatment.

As a result, before I could enjoy half a year, I became a lonely person again...

The huge gap made Li Dejian, who was extremely uncomfortable, inexplicably have an idea: What would happen if they knew what Minister Chen was thinking?
No, you can't think like that.

"My daughter, Li Dejian, must never be allowed to be someone's concubine."

Li Dejian struggled to maintain his last bit of sanity and dignity.

Then I lived a lonely life, reading books and reading books.

Without people to brag with, Wu Shi San wouldn't have much flavor.

"I wonder what my daughter thinks of Minister Chen?"

Li Dejian endured for many days, and suddenly this thought flashed through his mind.

(End of this chapter)