Early Tang Dynasty: forge ahead

Chapter 487 Pulling for Assistance

Chen Qingsi felt a little chilly when thinking about it.

As a mother, it is never too much to spoil your children.

But as the queen of a country, Empress Wu's attitude towards Li Xian was definitely not what a queen should have towards her prince.

Empress Wu was not an ordinary queen. She was described by later generations as a cold-blooded and rational politician. She would ruthlessly eliminate anyone who stood in her way, including her closest relatives.

This kind of person always puts his own interests first...

Family affection is just a seasoning for her.

She can have it, but it will not affect her future and power.

The position of the empress is the mother of the country, but this position does not have the power to really influence the court. It requires special circumstances, such as the approval of Emperor Li Zhi, or special circumstances, such as accidents in history.

Many people thought that Empress Wu had the power to control the government during the reign of Emperor Li Zhi, but in fact, Empress Wu lost all power after Li Zhi's death.

Li Zhi wrote clearly in his will: "If there are any undecided matters on military or national affairs, I will seek the advice of the Empress Dowager."

Many people misinterpreted the meaning of this statement and thought that Empress Wu had great power, but in fact the real power of the Tang Dynasty lay in the hands of Emperor Li Xian and Prime Minister Pei Yan.

Empress Wu had no power. Li Zhi's will allowed the young emperor to seek advice from Empress Wu if he encountered a major problem that he could not solve. It was just a suggestion, and she had no decision-making power.

Pei Yan was blinded by greed and wanted to use his power as prime minister to suppress the imperial power. He directly said, "The crown prince has not yet ascended the throne, and the imperial edict has not yet been announced. If there is any need for prompt punishment, I hope that the Empress Dowager will order the Secretariat and the Ministry of Personnel to implement it."

In other words, Pei Yan bypassed Li Xian and took away the power of the future emperor, handing Li Xian's power to Empress Wu, while he merged the two most powerful ministries, Zhongshu and Menxia, ​​and held them in his own hands. This was even more excessive than Zhangsun Wuji...

Empress Wu must have been stunned. How could such a good thing happen?
Li Xian was immediately furious, and the poor performance of this Liuwei Dihuang Pill was clearly revealed.

He did not choose to give in, but fought head-on without any strength, promoting his father-in-law Wei Xuanzhen. Even without the consent of Empress Wu and Pei Yan, he was furious: "I can give the whole world to Wei Xuanzhen, so why should I be stingy with a minister?"

After hearing this, Pei Yan became furious and made another stupid move, deposing the emperor.

Empress Wu was confused again. Good things are coming again?

She quickly dismissed the disobedient Li Xian and replaced him with the obedient Li Dan. She then used the incident of Xu Jingye to execute Pei Yan and seized power.

Therefore, the reason why Empress Wu came to power and ascended the throne was mainly due to Pei Yan's greed and Li Xian's stupidity. The greatness of Empress Wu was that she seized this sudden wealth.

Otherwise, under normal circumstances, Empress Wu would not have been qualified to hold power.

Before Pei Yan made his mistake, Empress Wu would never have imagined that one day she would be able to control the world.

Pei Yan's greed and Li Xian's stupidity combined to create Wu Zetian.

Both sides are indispensable...

This path is also not replicable.

Therefore, the only way for Empress Wu to maintain her power is to cling to Li Zhi, secure her current position, and then establish a good relationship with the crown prince so that after Li Zhi's death, mother and son can work together to deal with the powerful officials in the court.

Now, while Empress Wu was clinging to Li Zhi, she actually put all her remaining thoughts on Li Xian. This was really abnormal.

"Eating with my father and mother every day is actually the most free time."

Chen Qingsi's mind suddenly popped up the words Li Xian said.

Everyday, Li Xian is talking about every day?

Even if it was the empress or concubines in the palace, the emperor could not meet them whenever he wanted unless under special circumstances. There was more than one woman in the harem.

The prince is even more so...

However, Empress Wu was an exception. She had to assist Li Zhi in handling government affairs and had the privilege of having long-term contact with Li Zhi.

Empress Wu often brought Li Xian to her side in the name of disciplining the child, allowing Li Xian to see Li Zhi often.

Li Xian was intelligent, well-behaved and clever, loved by everyone. As they had lived together for a long time, Li Zhi naturally favored her specially.

Connecting the two, Chen Qingsi thought of another way.

Since Li Hong was led astray by Zhang Wenguan and Dai Zhide of the Eastern Palace, let's go back to the drawing board and retrain him.

Li Xian is undoubtedly the best choice...

Empress Wu was so wary of herself because she was afraid of repeating Li Hong's mistakes and worried that she would lead her son astray once again.

If that's true, it's a bit scary.

Chen Qingsi walked out of the palace and looked back at the huge palace behind him. Although the sun was shining brightly, he felt as if there were dark clouds everywhere.

"Ugh!"

Chen Qingsi let out a long sigh. The current Tang Dynasty was indeed stronger than the Tang Dynasty at the same period in history, but internally it seemed very unstable due to Li Zhi's health problems and Empress Wu's ambitions.

Now that the Arab Empire has launched diplomatic means, it is enough to show that a major war may break out at any time.

It is a turbulent time with internal and external troubles.

Chen Qingsi felt that he was overwhelmed.

Just then, he suddenly frowned.

It seems... an important person has been overlooked.

How could I forget him!
Chen Qingsi thought of Di Renjie who was sent out to other places. Fatty Di was the best at catching mice, so it was time to transfer him to Chang'an.

Huangzhong County.

A horseman was galloping on the county road. The people in the county were panicked and fled. More than ten cavalrymen followed closely behind him, ignoring the people fleeing on both sides, and marched through the center of the street.

Fortunately, the group of people were excellent riders, and although they caused quite a bit of chaos, they did not hurt any civilians.

Only a few timid people looked at the group of people going away in shock, cursing under their breath.

A question suddenly came from the crowd: "Is their target the county government?"

Another commoner said, "They're not going after Magistrate Di, are they?"

An insider said, "Could it be because Magistrate Di has imprisoned a lieutenant? I heard that a lieutenant coveted the "Kucha Music Score" from the Zhonglong family in the county, and tried to forcefully buy it when he failed, so Magistrate Di put him in jail. I heard from a prison guard friend that the lieutenant cursed badly in the jail, and said that he had someone behind him, and asked Magistrate Di to wait... Could this group of people be looking for trouble with the county magistrate?"

As soon as he said this, the people around him were in an uproar and all of them were worried.

They all started talking about it, and they were all worried about their County Magistrate Di.

"I'll go take a look, maybe I can help..."

A commoner said this timidly. He felt a little lacking in confidence when he said this, but he still walked towards the county office.

"Let's go together..."

"Let's go together..."

"Let's go together..."

……

In an instant, all the pedestrians and vendors on the street moved towards the county office. At the same time, Di Renjie, who had been promoted to county magistrate, was discussing the matter of mulberry silk with his county magistrate.

Similar to the time when Chen Qingsi was in Qingxi County, in the real world, Di Renjie did not have the ability to be possessed by the god of death. Wherever he went, there were strange cases and suspenseful events.

What Di Renjie came into contact with most were the daily necessities of ordinary people.

Di Renjie also enjoyed it.

Among the imperial examination candidates of the same session, Di Renjie had the most perfect start.

He followed Chen Qingsi northward and made a great success in the north. He uncovered a smuggling case, triggered a rebellion of the Tiele tribe, and then built three surrender cities.

Di Renjie has always been Chen Qingsi's deputy, responsible for trivial matters.

With his achievements, if he had stayed in the capital, his current position would definitely be the highest.

But Di Renjie chose to be sent to Huangzhong County, avoiding the intrigues of the capital and doing practical things for the people to hone himself.

But because of this, Di Renjie's achievements allowed Zhang Jianzhi and Wei Yuanzhong to surpass him.

Of course Di Renjie didn't care...

Do your own work conscientiously, no matter how big or small the official position is or how high or low the status is.

"County Magistrate, County Magistrate, a general has come outside and I want you to go see him."

Di Renjie was not surprised. He stood up calmly and said with a smile, "I'll be back soon."

He walked to the outside of the county office and saw a dozen horsemen standing outside the county office.

More than ten riders, each wearing lacquered leather armor and riding tall and mighty Hequ war horses, looked extremely powerful.

Especially the leader, who was burly and strong, with a full beard and eyes as big as copper bells, staring at him fiercely.

Di Renjie bowed slightly and said, "Di Renjie, the magistrate of Huangzhong County, greets General Zuo Yingyang..."

The person who came was General Zuo Yingyang, Wang Xiaojie.

Wang Xiaojie sat high on his horse, looked at the small county magistrate in front of him with contempt, and said, "Since you know that it is this general who is here in person, why don't you let him go?"

Di Renjie said: "The captain under the general's command is arrogant and domineering in this county, intending to hurt people and rob. His crime is indisputable and cannot be released..."

A trace of anger flashed in Wang Xiaojie's eyes, and he said, "If you don't let go, don't blame me for kidnapping people."

He drew the sword from his waist and pointed it at Di Renjie who was not far away, his eyes wide open with anger.

The dozen or so riders behind him drew their swords and pointed them at Di Renjie.

They were all brave men fighting on the battlefield. As soon as their weapons were unsheathed, a murderous aura immediately spread in all directions.

The county runners who heard the noise also drew their swords, but they bent their bodies slightly and moved their feet left and right, and there was a huge difference in their momentum.

The servants cannot compare with the elite soldiers who actually fight on the battlefield.

Di Renjie remained calm and said, "You can't save people. Unless you want to end up like Su Xinggong in the past..."

Wang Xiaojie's face froze. He knew what happened to Su Dingfang back then.

There is a reason why Su Dingfang was put on ice.

When Li Jing sent Su Dingfang to launch a surprise attack on Jie Li Khan's tent, he personally led more than 200 cavalrymen and attacked Jie Li Khan's tent in one breath, frightening Jie Li Khan and Princess Yicheng of the Sui Dynasty so much that they fled with only a few dozen cavalrymen...

Su Dingfang took a fancy to a horse of Jie Li and took it for himself. Seeing this, the soldiers beside him also looted everywhere in the tent, causing a group reaction.

Li Jing, who had made great contributions to this, was impeached...

In other times, Su Dingfang's situation would not be a big deal. However, in the early Tang Dynasty, many famous generals emerged, and they all rushed to take up their posts. Su Dingfang was a general who could win battles, so Su Dingfang was forgotten...

It was not until the reign of Emperor Li Zhi that he was re-employed and ushered in his own glory.

Wang Xiaojie looked at Di Renjie in front of him and forced a smile on his rough face: "I heard that Di Renjie, the magistrate of Huangzhong County, is upright and upright. When he first arrived in the county, he drove out the tyrants, arrested Tibetan spies, and improved public order as a county lieutenant. After being promoted to county magistrate, he put the people first and carried out education, which brought peace to the people in the county. Seeing him today, it is indeed true. I am just joking with Magistrate Di, please don't be offended..."

He sheathed his sword, glanced at the guards behind him, and shouted, "Put it away, put it away."

Wang Xiaojie got off his horse politely and said with a forced smile, "County Magistrate Di, may I have a word with you?"

Seeing Wang Xiaojie's attitude, Di Renjie shook his head and sighed, "I owe Mr. Chen another big favor!"

He made a gesture to invite Wang Xiaojie to the office at the back of the county government office.

Wang Xiaojie lost his previous arrogance and said with a playful smile: "County Magistrate Di, please release my people. I, Wang Xiaojie, also have some reputation in Shanzhou. If anything happens, the county magistrate can send someone to inform me and I will definitely help."

He cursed in his heart.

Now is a critical moment. Wang Xiaojie has followed Su Dingfang for many years and was the first to follow Su Dingfang to Shanzhou to take up the post.

Cheng Wuting has only been in Shanzhou for a few years, but now he is over his head.

How could Wang Xiaojie accept this...

Although Wang Xiaojie was rough and brave, he was meticulous and good at specializing. Even though Su Dingfang looked down on Wang Xiaojie at first, he eventually treated him as a half-brother.

In order not to be inferior to Cheng Wuting, Wang Xiaojie sent people to Beijing to establish connections and get through to Xu Jingzong.

Wang Xiaojie did not give up. He heard that Li Zhi liked music, and he personally composed the songs of "Shangyuan", "Eryi", "Sancai", "Four Seasons", "Five Elements", "Liulü", "Qi Zheng", "Bafeng", "Jiugong", "Shizhou", "Deyi" and "Qingyun". He wanted to collect some Kucha music scores for Li Zhi.

It is a recognized fact that the music of Kucha in the Western Region is unparalleled in the world.

However, since the fall of Kucha, the country's musicians have scattered, and the existing music scores in the country have also been scattered everywhere...

The music scores of Kucha have also become rare items and are very valuable.

The Long family of Longyou was a large family in Longnan. While doing business in the Western Regions, a family member accidentally obtained a copy of Kucha music scores and regarded it as a family heirloom.

After Wang Xiaojie learned about it, he sent someone to buy it.

As a result, they had a disagreement and started to fight.

Di Renjie was an upright person, so he would not tolerate the other party and sent him directly to jail.

Wang Xiaojie had no choice but to come in person.

If facing an ordinary person, Wang Xiaojie would not be so polite, but the magistrate of Huangzhong County was called Di Renjie.

Before coming, Wang Xiaojie sent someone to find out who Di Renjie was. He learned that Di Renjie had followed Chen Qingsi and was highly valued by Chen Qingsi, so he knew he couldn't act rashly.

I can't afford to offend Chen Qingsi.

Wang Xiaojie thought that it would be best if he could scare him.

Now that I can’t scare you with my tough tactics, I can only be soft and humble.

Di Renjie had a clear mind. When he learned that Wang Xiaojie sent someone to get the "Kucha Music Score", he knew Wang Xiaojie's intention and his weakness. Despite the disparity in their status, he was able to control him firmly.

(End of this chapter)