Early Tang Dynasty: forge ahead

Chapter 482: Each Gets a Punch
April 1st, the new moon.

There were two grand courts every month in the Tang Dynasty, on the first and fifteenth day of the month. The first day was called the "Shuo" and the fifteenth was called the "Wang". The two grand courts were also called the "Shuowang" and "Wang" courts.

All civil and military officials above the ninth rank in the capital will participate on this day.

Generally speaking, such special days are rarely used to discuss political affairs, except on special occasions.

For example, today...

The first to initiate the rebellion was Li Yiyan.

Li Yiyan originally worked in the Ministry of Rites, but with the increase of his achievements and the special care of Chen Qingsi, he has now transferred to the Censorate and became the Assistant Censor of the Tang Dynasty.

"Your Majesty, I accuse Prime Minister Zhang of not distinguishing between public and private affairs. Ambassador Anji of Longyou and Duke Xing are pillars of the country and have made great contributions to the country. However, Prime Minister Zhang used public power for his own selfish interests. When faced with the death of such a meritorious official, he concealed the news, which really chilled the hearts of the people in the world."

Li Yiyan's words were powerful. He was tall and handsome, and now he was impeaching Zhang Wenguan based on his military achievements. His words were sonorous and powerful, and shook the court and the country.

Half of the ministers in the temple knew that a storm was coming.

Two days of sedimentation are for today's explosion.

All the court officials were waiting for this day, but when it finally came, the whole court was in an uproar.

Especially Zhang Wenguan and his group, they were obviously a little flustered and caught off guard.

It’s not because they were not prepared, but because they didn’t expect that the person who impeached Zhang Wenguan was Li Yiyan.

It is true that Li Yiyan was a member of the Qingliu faction, but the person who actually promoted him was Zhang Wenguan.

In order to treat everyone equally, Chen Qingsi provided opportunities to the Qingliu Party and gave them space and soil for development.

As Zhang Wenguan was the prime minister, he had more power than Chen Qingsi. Moreover, Li Zhi needed Zhang Wenguan to govern the officials, so he gave him many privileges.

Zhang Wenguan was able to promote his own confidants out of turn, which shows the strength of his administrative team.

Zhang Wenguan passed the imperial examination in his early years and was appointed as a military officer in Bingzhou, serving under Li Ji. Li Yiyan passed the imperial examination and was appointed as a lieutenant in Taiyuan, also serving under Li Ji.

One of them was a military officer in Bingzhou, and the other was a lieutenant in Taiyuan. They had no extra connection with each other in normal times, but they had certain interactions in terms of their official powers.

Zhang Wenguan was well aware of Li Yiyan's abilities and placed him in important positions.

In terms of administration, Li Yiyan assisted Zhang Wenguan in doing a lot of things.

This also included the overthrow of Xu Jingzong's confidants and the corrupt officials within the Qingliu Party.

Many people think that Li Yiyan has already sided with Zhang Wenguan...

Even Zhang Wenguan and his group felt so.

Who would have thought that Li Yiyan would be the first to stand up and impeach.

Just when everyone was shocked and unbelievable, Li Zhi, the top leader, had a different attitude.

"What? Lord Su Xing died? How come I don't know anything about this?"

Li Zhi really didn't know the news of Su Dingfang's death.

This is also the most difficult part of being an emperor.

The emperor was too high up in the world to reach out to the people.

Many times, the emperor in the palace is the last to know about something that is known to everyone in the world.

For example, when Su Dingfang passed away, Zhang Wenguan suppressed the news from Shanzhou, and Li Zhi was unable to get the news.

Even if Chen Qingsi noticed the problem and revealed the truth through Su Dingfang's suicide note, as long as a few people didn't tell others, Li Zhi in the palace would still not know.

This is the case with Su Dingfang's death on the front line.

So when Li Zhi heard Li Yiyan impeaching Zhang Wenguan, his mind was not on the impeachment itself, but on the content of the impeachment.

Su Dingfang was Li Zhi's most trusted general. Su Dingfang was the first to bear the brunt of Li Zhi's military achievements, and then Chen Qingsi.

Especially before Chen Qingsi rose to power and when Li Zhi first ascended the throne.

At that time, people all over the world were laughing at Li Zhi, the lucky emperor who was known for his benevolence, Confucianism and weakness. It was Su Dingfang who relied on his extraordinary military strength to defeat those who were dissatisfied from all directions.

But now, when he heard that Su Dingfang had passed away, he immediately felt the pain of having his arm broken.

After confirming that Su Dingfang had died, Li Zhi regained his composure. He just looked at Zhang Wenguan and asked, "What's your explanation, Prime Minister Zhang?"

Zhang Wenguan had already made sufficient preparations. Facing the impeachment, he said calmly: "Your Majesty, I just think that the most important thing for the court now is to govern the officials. Su Xinggong has made great contributions to the court. I have asked the Ministry of Rites to send people to assist his descendants in the funeral. I have not treated him lightly. After Su Xinggong's funeral is over, I will ask Your Majesty to posthumously confer his merits and reward him."

"All my actions were reasonable and I have not failed to do anything wrong. I really don't know where Li Shiyushi's impeachment comes from."

This is the most confusing part.

Zhang Wenguan was the prime minister of the time, and he had the right to handle some trivial matters on his own.

He felt that Su Dingfang's funeral was not worth reporting, so he decided on his own to let people from the Ministry of Rites assist the Su family in arranging the funeral. All arrangements were reasonable and logical.

It is not morally correct, but it is legally correct.

Chen Qingsi was not surprised by Zhang Wenguan's words. This was also the reason why he did not reason with Zhang Wenguan. First, it was impossible to reason with him, and second, Zhang Wenguan had the right to handle the matter in this way. You can say that he handled it improperly, but you can't say that he handled it in an unlawful manner.

So we have to use some special means...

Chen Qingsi directly stepped forward and said, "No dereliction of duty? Su Dingfang is a military hero of our dynasty. His military achievements are unmatched. He fell ill in the borderland for the sake of the country, and the three armies wept bitterly. Such a person should be treated with caution to stabilize the morale of the army. If such a meritorious minister does not receive the corresponding honors after his death, wouldn't it make the soldiers of the three armies feel disheartened?"

Chen Qingsi's appearance immediately caused the temple to appear in a terrifying state.

There was silence for a moment.

The silence is terrifying.

What's the situation?
How come the young veteran who has always been at ease in official circles is like a rookie?
What status?
He actually led the charge...

Chen Qingsi did not give Zhang Wenguan face and questioned him in the street, which was an act almost like that of a reckless man.

Now he is taking the initiative in the temple...

The game starts with a general vs. general fight. How can the small players play?
The rules of the game are usually that the small fry fight to the death, while people like Zhang Wenguan and Chen Qingsi, who are the chess players, are behind the scenes, stirring up the situation.

In the end, no matter who wins or loses, it will not affect them.

Now that Chen Qingsi has shown up, how dare the little shrimps below move?

However, there are still people who are not afraid of Chen Qingsi.

Li Jingxuan was furious and said indignantly: "Your Majesty, Minister Chen contradicted his superiors and openly scolded the prime minister. I request that he be punished for disrespect..."

Li Jingxuan was Zhang Wenguan's most loyal follower of the people-oriented philosophy.

Unlike Zhang Wenguan, Zhang Wenguan actually has some sense.

Zhang Wenguan truly believed that his political ideas could save the Tang Dynasty, restore the spirit of Emperors Wen and Jing, and lead the court, which had gone astray, back onto the right path.

But he only does what he thinks is right and never suppresses or excludes others without reason.

If you are targeted by him, it is because he feels that it is wrong and he is targeting the issue, not the person.

But Li Jingxuan is different, he is more radical and unscrupulous. In his eyes, everyone in the political arena is either an enemy or a friend.

We must support our friends even if they are wrong, and we must oppose the enemy's policies even if they are right.

Ever since the debate in the Prince's Mansion and the Chancellery, Li Jingxuan has regarded Chen Qingsi as his enemy.

During the Fengshan ceremony, Li Jingxuan even arranged for people to cause trouble in order to create trouble for Chen Qingsi.

As a result, Chen Qingsi was more skilled and, relying on his memory, he assembled an elite team for the future Tang Dynasty's court to maintain overall order. His arrangements did not cause any trouble at all.

Chen Qingsi used a couplet to call Zhang Wenguan a shameless bastard, but the person who was most irritated was not Zhang Wenguan, but Li Jingxuan.

Today, seeing that Chen Qingsi was not following the rules in the temple, I took the initiative to open fire.

How could he bear it no longer? He immediately went out to ask for punishment for Chen Qingsi's crime.

Li Zhi frowned and glanced at Chen Qingsi, then at Zhang Wenguan, and then at the civil and military officials who were ready to make a move, and coldly spat out two words: "Withdraw from the court."

He said this and walked away.

For a moment, the temple was silent again.

Li Zhi's departure was timely and clever, which not only demonstrated his absolute power but also successfully stopped a riot.

Chen Qingsi is the leader of the Qingliu Party. When he is attacked, there is no reason for the members of the Qingliu Party not to fight back.

Similarly, Zhang Wenguan is now the most popular prime minister, and many people are dependent on him.

They won't sit still...

This will only lead to a big fight between the two sides.

So the words "withdraw from the court" suppressed everything.

Li Zhi's face turned pale as he returned to Chengqian Hall: "Let's check what happened. Why did Chen Qingsi and Zhang Wenguan cause trouble?"

Li Zhi was an extremely resourceful emperor. The reason he was misled and ill-informed was not because he was incompetent, but because he had no idea of ​​the causes and consequences.

Just like Zhao Er in Chang'an, who doesn't know what Wang Wu in Luoyang is having for dinner.

He has no right to know about things that have absolutely nothing to do with him.

But as long as Li Zhi knew about this, he would arrange for his confidants to investigate. With his means, the whole cause and effect would appear on his desk in detail.

There were even some inside stories that Chen Qingsi didn't know: for example, Zhang Wenguan's subsequent plan to suppress the martial arts style of the Tang Dynasty, and the cold treatment of the news of Su Dingfang's death was just a means for Zhang Wenguan to go with the flow.

Zhang Wenguan had never taken Su Dingfang's death into account in the overall plan. After all, he could not have expected that Su Dingfang would die at this time.

However, Su Dingfang died suddenly due to illness. Zhang Wenguan was worried that the court would be grateful for Su Dingfang's great contribution and hold a grand and solemn funeral for him, thereby expanding the martial spirit.

After all, even Yang Jiong, a top scholar, wrote about his yearning to join the army and wrote sentences like "I would rather be a centurion than a scholar". This really expanded the martial spirit, and the difficulty of suppressing it would increase a lot.

Su Dingfang was not in Zhang Wenguan's plan, but now Li Zhi got the plan.

Looking at Zhang Wenguan's plan, Li Zhi felt a headache and whispered, "Good Zhang Wenguan, I underestimated you."

Li Zhi didn't like people like Zhang Wenguan at all, but from an emperor's perspective, Zhang Wenguan was a talent, a great talent, but he didn't want to use this talent.

The reason is simple. Li Zhi was not Emperor Wen of Han. He was an ambitious emperor. He was unwilling to spend twenty years emphasizing moral governance, promoting etiquette, working hard to govern the country, being benevolent and frugal, and finally became Emperor Wu of Han.

Emperors of all dynasties praised Emperor Wen of Han and slandered Emperor Wu of Han, but in fact no emperor wanted to be Emperor Wen of Han. They all wanted to be Emperor Wu of Han.

Li Zhi’s idea was very simple and direct: I will defeat all the enemies and make them subdue them.

Then he asked his son to clean up his own mess and let him reuse Zhang Wenguan...

Li Zhi never had any intention towards Zhang Wenguan, he just had no choice.

The current situation forced Li Zhi to use Zhang Wenguan.

Li Zhi was the emperor, but in the face of the general trend, he had to be swept away by it.

This momentum was created by Chen Qingsi.

Li Zhi admired his father very much and never had the idea of ​​surpassing him. However, after he made use of Chen Qingsi, many things were no longer up to him.

For example, the three surrendered cities in the north, the suppression of Silla, the conquest of Japan, and the defense against Tubo...

All these are problems existing in the Tang Dynasty. Chen Qingsi brought out the problems and put them in front of Li Zhi. Li Zhi had no choice but to use Chen Qingsi and had to do it.

Because what Chen Qingsi said was all correct, they were all the strategic shortcomings of the Tang Dynasty at this stage in history.

Li Zhi didn't understand, but he had the ability to judge right from wrong.

Chen Qingsi is right. If it is good for the Tang Dynasty, he will naturally listen.

After hearing this, the Tang Dynasty avoided many wrong decisions and its prestige naturally continued to grow.

But inevitably, the steps were a little too big.

The insufficient treasury also forced Li Zhi to choose to govern the officials.

When it comes to governing officials, Zhang Wenguan is the best choice.

Even if he disliked him, Li Zhi had to endure it. Before his goal was achieved, he could tolerate Zhang Wenguan's shortcomings, and then kick him away after his goal was achieved.

Now Zhang Wenguan and Chen Qingsi are in conflict.

Li Zhi was immediately in a dilemma. Zhang Wenguan was the current one. With Zhang Wenguan around, the court's economy and people's livelihood would be able to recover. He could not be touched.

But Chen Qingsi represents the future, and the decisive battle with the Arab Empire cannot be fought without Chen Qingsi.

Before, Li Zhi could still rely on Su Dingfang and Li Ji, but now Su Dingfang died of illness in the army...

Li Ji is already 70 years old this year, and he broke his leg while performing the Feng Zen ritual. Do you really expect him to go to the Western Regions and command the army to fight a decisive battle with the Arab Empire?
So... Chen Qingsi couldn't move either.

However, it is not a bad thing that the two of them fell out because of this.

There was a hint of smile on Li Zhi's brow: Chen Qingsi's rapid rise had always been a source of worry for him, and he had tried to suppress him many times but failed.

Now having a mortal enemy is not a bad thing.

Thinking of this, Li Zhi called Xu Jingzong, Liu Xiangdao, Dou Deyuan, and Le Yanwei to Chengqian Hall. With red eyes, he cried with some sadness, "Mr. Su Xing has made great contributions to the country and should be honored according to the law. You did not speak up, so he was not honored. Why is this so?"

Xu Jingzong, Liu Xiangdao, Dou Deyuan, and Le Yanwei were all hesitant and unable to speak.

But they were all smart turtles, and without any hesitation, the four of them threw the matter to Zhang Wenguan.

Li Zhi said: "Zhang Qing handled this matter inappropriately. From now on, he will be transferred to the Ministry of Personnel and serve as the Minister of the Imperial Household..."

Zhang Wenguan was originally the Zuo Pushe of the Shangshu Province and the Left Prime Minister, but now he has been demoted to the Huangmen Shilang, which is indeed a level lower.

However, Li Zhi did not remove Zhang Wenguan's authority as the third-rank official in the Secretariat, and obviously had no intention of dismissing him from his position as prime minister.

"As for Chen Qing, he humiliated the Prime Minister, demoted him to the position of Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, and made him act as the Minister of State!"

(End of this chapter)