Early Tang Dynasty: forge ahead

Chapter 535: Don’t tell lies in front of others

Li Jingxuan felt that he had no way to defend himself.

There was a hint of distrust on Li Hong's face, and so did Pei Yan.

Li Jingxuan was the most radical in his attitude towards Chen Qingsi.

In Li Jingxuan's eyes, the best case scenario for Chen Qingsi is Huo Guang, and the more likely case is Wang Mang. He has been trying to persuade Li Hong to find an opportunity to demote and punish him in order to avoid future troubles, and then find another opportunity to get rid of him.

Li Hong knew this very well. When Chen Qingsi was attacked, his first reaction was Li Jingxuan.

Chen Qingsi hurried back. Although it was not a secret, it was not news that could be easily known.

This was originally about Li Zhi being seriously ill, and Chen Qingsi was invited to come so that he could entrust his son to him in person. As for the emperor's death, the news was kept secret.

There are not many people who can roughly grasp Chen Qingsi's movements and arrange assassins to kill him.

As the leader of the literati and the leader of the Qingliu faction, Chen Qingsi also had a high prestige in the army and was very popular among civil officials and generals. There were not many people who were enemies with him, and Li Jingxuan was almost the only suspect.

Li Hong was slightly disappointed. He was a kind and filial person, and was very kind to those around him. Li Jingxuan had followed him for ten years, and the relationship was very deep. He knew that everything Li Jingxuan did was for his own good, but this behavior violated his bottom line.

But at this time, Li Hong had no time to investigate further, and just asked: "How is Mr. Chen? Is he injured?"

The eunuch said, "May God bless our Tang Dynasty. Chen Xianggong is fine. The assassin did not shoot Chen Xianggong, and Chen Xianggong has survived the ordeal."

Li Hong was relieved, looked at Pei Yan and Li Jingxuan, and then said: "I agree with your point of view, not because I don't trust Mr. Chen, but I don't want to see a situation where one person dominates the government. Mr. Chen is a pillar of the country, and I will rely on him to help. You must remember not to act recklessly in the future."

Li Jingxuan felt that Li Hong was talking to him and he was speechless.

Pei Yan on the other side looked slightly annoyed.

Li Hong dismissed Pei Yan and Li Jingxuan and waited for Chen Qingsi's arrival alone.

Pei Yan and Li Jingxuan left Chengqian Hall together.

Seeing that no one was around, Li Jingxuan said angrily, "I wanted to get rid of Chen Qingsi, the scourge of the world, but I was too disdainful to resort to such despicable means. Your Majesty's suspicion of me is unreasonable."

Pei Yan said with a sullen face: "Right now, the people in the court who least want him to come back are you and me. It is reasonable for His Majesty to have such doubts."

Li Jingxuan said unhappily, "Then why doesn't His Majesty doubt you?"

Pei Yan said: "Brother Chen and I have a close relationship. We have known each other since he was still a commoner. I oppose him only for the sake of the country, not for personal hatred. All I want is to remove him from office, and I have never thought of harming his life."

"Humph!" Li Jingxuan snorted, then looked at Pei Yan with some doubt and said, "You didn't arrange the assassin, did you?"

Pei Yan seemed too disdainful to respond and just walked away.

Pei Yan did not return to the government office, but went straight back to his home.

As soon as he entered the house, the most loyal old servant Pei You stepped forward and whispered, "Wu Liu is waiting for the master in the study."

Pei Yan's calm expression suddenly changed, and he growled, "Why isn't he running away?"

Looking at the dazed face of the loyal servant, Pei Yan ran to the study in two steps, and indeed saw a middle-aged man with a rough face in the study.

Pei Yan opened his mouth and said, "Didn't we agree that no matter whether it succeeds or not, we will leave the city immediately and go to the Western Regions to join the army?"

The middle-aged man scratched his head and said, "Mr. Pei, I haven't had time to make a move yet, and Chen Qingsi has been assassinated. I don't know what happened, but the other party was on guard, so I couldn't find any chance. I can only go back to Mr. Pei and see if I can wait for the next opportunity."

Only then did Pei Yan realize that Chen Qingsi's assassination was not arranged by him.

"This bastard is really good at pretending!"

Pei Yan cursed in his heart, and then a nameless anger rose up: "Incompetent waste, ruining my plan."

Pei Yan had big plans. He was unwilling to let Chen Qingsi step on him, and he also disdained to associate with people like Li Jingxuan. He provoked Li Jingxuan openly and covertly, and provoked a conflict between him and Chen Qingsi in front of Li Hong.

If the assassination succeeds, Chen Qingsi will die and Li Jingxuan will be the biggest suspect.

Two of the three ministers were removed. Li Hong was weak and unable to handle the heavy workload. All important government affairs fell into his hands, thus achieving several goals at one stroke.

Who would have thought that Li Jingxuan was so incompetent and arranged such a useless killer, which directly ruined all his plans.

Seeing that the middle-aged man still wanted to assassinate him, Pei Yan said, "No need. After this assassination attempt, Chen Qingsi will be on guard. The risk is too great. What I promised you still counts. The Western Region is in a fierce battle. Protector Pei Xingjian is a member of my Pei family. You will benefit from my recommendation letter. But Protector Pei is an upright person. Recruiting him is one thing, but whether you can gain fame and honor depends on your own ability."

The middle-aged man was very excited and said, "Don't worry about this, my dear. I am not afraid of death. I just want a chance."
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At the same time, Li Hong, who was waiting for Chen Qingsi in Chengqian Hall, received the news that Chen Qingsi wanted to see him.

Facing the new emperor sitting high in the hall, Chen Qingsi felt sad again. Li Zhi had treated him really well, and whenever he thought of it, he couldn't help but feel sentimental.

"Greetings, Your Majesty!" Chen Qingsi calmed himself down and bowed with his palms crossed.

"Sir, please don't be polite!" Li Hong hurried down from the top and saw that Chen Qingsi looked weathered but not in a state of distress. He thankfully said, "I was horrified to hear that you were assassinated. Fortunately, God blesses the Tang Dynasty and you are safe."

Chen Qingsi's knowledge of Li Hong was limited to the stage of being the crown prince. Now he is the emperor of the Tang Dynasty, and his status is completely different. He is unsure of his current state of mind, and his words are a little strange. He said, "It's just a small matter, but it frightened Your Majesty."

Li Hong hurriedly said, "Sir, you can't say that. You are the minister left to me by the late emperor, and the most indispensable pillar of our Tang Dynasty. When I was in the palace, I wanted to listen to your teachings all the time, but you had a heavy responsibility and had to give up. Until today, I finally got what I wanted. I give you the position of Zhongshu Ling. If there are any shortcomings in the future, I hope you can point out and refute them."

The Three Provinces and Six Ministries are the Secretariat, the Chancellery and the Ministry of Palace Affairs. Among them, the Secretariat was the most powerful. However, precisely because of its power, it was suppressed by Li Shimin and Li Zhi. Since the post of Shangshu Ling was no longer established, the status of the Secretariat has been declining again and again. Instead, the Ministry of Central Secretariat came from behind and became the most important department of the three provinces, assisting the emperor in governing the country and making overall judgments on provincial affairs.

The Secretariat was the closest to the emperor, responsible for drafting imperial edicts and was the first institution to receive the emperor's orders. If the emperor wanted to issue any order, he would first need the Secretariat to draft the official document...

Chen Qingsi has another identity as the regent, who has the power to refute the emperor's will.

That is to say, from today onwards, any decree from Li Hong must be approved by Chen Qingsi, the Minister of the Secretariat, otherwise it will be stuck at the first step and there will be no chance of it being delegated to the Ministry of Personnel.

Li Hong's attitude was very sincere.

Chen Qingsi also breathed a sigh of relief. At least for now, although Li Hong had more considerations after becoming emperor, his nature had not changed much, and there were fewer troubles.

Li Hong and Chen Qingsi briefly reminisced about the past, and then Li Hong began to ask Chen Qingsi about some government affairs.

The first thing Li Hong mentioned was the malpractices in the official selection system of the Ministry of Personnel.

This was a bad policy that had plagued the Tang Dynasty for many years. It was continuously reformed during the reign of Emperor Li Zhi, but the key issues were never addressed.

Because the war in the Western Regions is raging, the Tang Dynasty is now a high-speed war machine, and all departments are operating to deliver all kinds of supplies to the front line. A large number of talents are needed to fill the gaps in order to maintain operation...

The reform of the Ministry of Personnel has now reached a point where it cannot be delayed any longer.

Of course, Chen Qingsi no longer has reservations now, and has first proposed regulations such as the Changmingbang and Quanzhu to solve the current hidden dangers of the Ministry of Personnel, so that the Ministry of Personnel can resume operation and provide fresh blood to the court.

Li Hong nodded continuously as he listened.

Unexpectedly, Chen Qingsi came up with a solution to the official selection system of the Ministry of Personnel, which had troubled his father for many years and made him anxious, in just a few words.

"Sir, you are truly a great man. I think this method is feasible. Sir, please write down the details and let the Ministry of Personnel try it out."

Chen Qingsi also agreed immediately.

Li Hong asked many more questions, and Chen Qingsi answered them all without reservation.

Facing Li Zhi, Chen Qingsi held back, but now he was the Minister of the Central Secretariat and the Regent, and the emperor was still Li Hong, so he did not hide his incompetence at all.

Li Hong suddenly discovered that neither Pei Yan nor Li Jingxuan were comparable to Chen Qingsi.

Although the two of them have their own strengths, compared with Chen Qingsi, who is a practical man, their style of doing things is obviously too idealistic. The solutions they come up with are not unfeasible, but they are often out of touch with reality and only part of them are applicable.

It was not until nightfall that Li Hong reluctantly let Chen Qingsi go.

When Chen Qingsi left the palace, Zhou Kui and other guards were already on standby.

We have to put on a full show. Since we've been assassinated, we can't be careless with our protection.

Chen Qingsi did not rush home, but found Zhou Kui and said, "Go and inform Mr. Xu that Chen Qingsi will come to see him soon!"

If Li Zhi had entrusted his son to someone else, Xu Jingzong would definitely be one of them.

Xu Jingzong certainly knew whether there was any problem with Li Zhi's will.

If you want an answer, you can definitely go to Xu Jingzong.

Since Li Hong ascended the throne, Xu Jingzong has been staying at home due to health reasons.

Without Li Zhi's support, this evergreen who had reigned the longest during Li Zhi's reign inevitably withered away.

Just because he had the protection of Pei Yan and Li Jingxuan, no one came to make things difficult for him.

Xu Jingzong was greedy for money. After serving as prime minister for many years, he accumulated a large amount of wealth and lived a comfortable life.

When Xu Jingzong heard that Chen Qingsi came to ask for a meeting, he was not surprised. He ordered everyone in the house to clean up the house to welcome the distinguished guest.

This time, Xu Jingzong did not receive Chen Qingsi in his home's castle in the air, but invited him to his tea room.

"The public security in Chang'an has become worse and worse. It is abominable that a thief would assassinate you in public."

Xu Jingzong talked about today's assassination.

Chen Qingsi said disapprovingly: "Where did the assassin come from? It was just a show I arranged myself. I won't lie in front of Mr. Xu, who is such an honest man."

(End of this chapter)