The Flourishing Tang Dynasty: Beginning with Marrying Yang Yuhuan

Chapter 276 Is it a blessing or a curse?
"How to set up the trap?" Li Linfu looked up and asked.

Luo Xishi said: "From what the Saint means, it seems that he will let Prince Shou take charge of Helong and attack Tubo. At that time, the Right Prime Minister only needs to hold back a little and make Prince Shou lose. Then the Saint will naturally change his attitude towards Prince Shou."

Hearing this, Li Linfu fiddled with the tea leaves in his hand again and said, "Do you know why I, the Right Prime Minister, can achieve what I have today?"

Luo Xishi said: "Of course it is because the Right Prime Minister is so outstanding in virtue and talent, and a saint cannot do without a Right Prime Minister."

Li Linfu said: "The saint is a man of great talent and ambition, and is devoted to expanding the territory. One of the reasons why the saint uses me is because I support his great cause. If I tamper with this, the result will be that Prince Shou will not be punished, and I, the right prime minister, will be the first to be punished."

Luo Xishi said: "What if the method is more secretive?"

"How to keep it secret?" Li Linfu asked back. Without waiting for Luo Xishi's reply, he continued to explain, "With the current status and position of the Shou prince, even if he is completely defeated by the Tubo army, the saint will give him a chance to explain. As long as the Shou prince opens his mouth, how much can we hide? To put it another way, even if we have a reasonable explanation at that time, as long as we hold the Shou prince back, it will also show our incompetence. How can incompetent people stay with the saint?"

Li Linfu knew Li Longji's thoughts very well. He knew very well that the reason he could serve as the right prime minister until today was largely because he was an extension of Li Longji's thoughts and will. If he did anything that went against Li Longji's thoughts and will, his political life would be over.

Therefore, he could not touch anything related to foreign wars.

Luo Xishe had not reached Li Linfu's level yet. He could only use his usual methods to pressure Li Heng. When he saw that Li Linfu said no, he did not understand the fundamental reason.

Luo Xishi thought for a moment and said, "Then we should either start with the people around Prince Shou, or find evidence that Prince Shou is plotting a rebellion."

Li Linfu asked, "The people around Prince Shou are either in Qixi, or Consort Wu Huifei and Prince Sheng. Do you want to investigate Qixi, or Consort Wu Huifei and Prince Sheng?"

"This..." Luo Xishi was speechless for a moment, and after thinking for a while, he said, "Do we have no way to deal with him?"

Li Linfu shook his head and smiled.

In recent years, Li Heng has been singing a different tune from Li Linfu. Li Linfu had long wanted to suppress and persecute Li Heng, but he did not act rashly.

Because he knew that ordinary attacks were basically ineffective against Li Heng, and if he wanted to really defeat Li Heng, he could only rely on Li Longji.

Just like he was able to deal with Li Heng, it was not because he was so strong and Li Heng was so weak, the fundamental reason was that Li Longji wanted to guard against Li Heng.

The same applies to Li Heng.

Li Heng was going to attack Shibao City and Tubo next. If Li Heng failed, Li Longji would naturally dismiss Li Heng without him having to do anything. If Li Heng succeeded, Li Heng's merits and power would reach the peak, and Li Longji would then focus on guarding against Li Heng. At that time, he only needed to use a small reason to give Li Longji an excuse, and Li Heng would fall to the bottom.

Therefore, in this battle with Tubo, no matter whether Li Heng wins or loses, the outcome for Li Heng will not be good.

This battle will be a great disaster for Li Heng, and all he has to do is wait.

Seeing that Li Linfu was silent, Luo Xishi asked again, "Could it be that the Right Prime Minister has come up with a brilliant plan?"

Li Linfu glared at Luo Xishi and said, "Prince Shou's affairs are not your concern. You should think about how to deal with Wang Zhongsi's affairs."

Luo Xishi said: "The saint has made up his mind, and it seems that I can't do anything."

Li Linfu said, "Didn't Wang Zhongsi confess? Since he has confessed, the procedures should be followed and the documents should be submitted. If Wang Zhongsi cannot be killed, killing a few others to further weaken his power is also possible."

"Yes." Luo Xishi accepted the order.

……

into the night.

Li Longji rarely sought pleasure, but instead walked silently under the moonlight. Unknowingly, he arrived in front of Wu Huifei's palace.

When the palace maid at the palace gate saw Li Longji, she hurriedly saluted and prepared to turn around to call Concubine Wu Huifei.

But Li Longji stopped the palace maid because he heard Concubine Wu Huifei's piano playing.

Li Longji stood at the door and listened silently to Concubine Wu Huifei finish playing a song before he walked into the gate.

When Concubine Wu Huifei in the courtyard saw Li Longji, she was a little surprised and hurried forward to salute Li Longji.

Without waiting for Concubine Wu Hui to pay her respects, Li Longji said, "I came here so late at night. I hope I didn't disturb Concubine Hui's pleasure."

Concubine Wu Hui smiled and said, "Bo Ya's zither playing was very exquisite, and Zhong Ziqi admired him very much. Later, Zhong Ziqi died of illness, and Boya was extremely sad. He thought that there was no one in the world who could understand his zither music anymore, so he broke his zither and never played the zither again. My zither playing skills are naturally not as good as Boya's, but Sanlang is to me just like Zhong Ziqi is to Boya, so how can you say he is disturbing me?"

Li Longji smiled knowingly when he heard this.

As time passed, Wu Huifei's appearance was not as good as before, but when it comes to the comfort level of chatting, Wu Huifei still ranks among the best among his concubines.

Li Longji sat down casually and said, "When I first met you, it was also like this. I first heard the sound of the zither and then saw you in person. It seems like it was just yesterday, but when I counted carefully, thirty-five years have passed. Shiba Lang has become a frontier governor guarding a place."

When Concubine Wu Hui heard Li Longji mention Li Heng, she instantly understood the point of Li Longji's words. She echoed and sighed, "Time is unforgiving. In the past, I hoped that Heng'er could achieve great things, but now I just hope that he will be safe and sound."

Li Longji asked, "Do you want him to stay in Beijing to recuperate?"

"No." Concubine Wu Huifei shook her head, "As long as he is safe and sound, it's fine wherever he is."

"He has been far away in Qixi these years. It is not easy for you to see him. I know you are worried about him." Li Longji looked at Concubine Wu Huifei and said, "How about this, I will transfer him to Helong, so that he will be closer to Chang'an."

The last time, when Li Longji was preparing to let Li Heng take over Helong, he also came to find Wu Huifei.

But the difference is that last time Li Longji's words were full of temptation, this time there was more tenderness. However, Wu Huifei was not happy because Li Longji was more tender, because she knew Li Longji, and she knew that Li Longji's tenderness was not something that everyone could bear.

Wu Huifei wanted to refuse like last time but was afraid of appearing hypocritical. She was stunned for a moment and could only say, "Sanlang, you are so kind. I am very grateful for your kindness."

Li Longji said: "Even though you said that, you may think that I just want Shibalang to attack Tubo, and I have no intention of loving him."

Wu Huifei did not expect Li Longji to make it so clear. She was shocked and stood up and said, "I have no such thoughts. I..."

"You don't have to explain." Li Longji interrupted Wu Huifei and asked her to sit down before continuing, "Shibalang has one wife and two concubines, neither of whom are from the wealthy families in Guanzhong. You must think that I want to keep him in the border for a long time. Now many people in the court also think so, but you all misunderstood. In order to let everyone understand my meaning, I decided to give Wei Zhaoxun's third daughter to Shibalang as a concubine."

After hearing this, Concubine Wu Huifei finally understood why Li Longji was more affectionate today.

Li Longji wanted to completely win the hearts of the mother and son, and then make Li Heng work willingly.

Is this a blessing or a curse?

Concubine Wu Hui thought for a moment and said, "Should I ask what Ying'er means?"

"No need for that." Li Longji said firmly, "Isn't it possible that Shiba Lang can't understand my good intentions?"

"That's right. Ying'er can best understand Sanlang's favor." Concubine Wu Huifei followed.

Li Longji smiled and said, "I haven't heard you play the piano for a long time. Why don't you play another piece today? How about "General's Order"?"

"Yes." Concubine Wu Huifei obeyed the order, picked up the zither again and started playing.

……

There will be a meeting the next day.

Li Linfu presented Wang Zhongsi's document of confession and repentance to Li Longji. Li Longji took a look at it and was very satisfied.

This time, regardless of whether Wang Zhongsi pleads guilty or not, he will punish Wang Zhongsi. Now he has a "perfect" reason and will also gain a good reputation.

This is just one of them.

More importantly, this action shows that no matter who he is or how many soldiers he is in charge of, others can only live if he wants them to live.

Everything that everyone in the Tang Dynasty has was given by him.

However, he did not rush to make a judgment, but sighed: "Wang Zhongsi's matter makes me sad."

The left prime minister Chen Xilie said: "This is all because Wang Zhongsi is ungrateful and ambitious. He has failed the saint. Please don't be sad and waste your energy on such a person."

Li Longji sighed and said, "What the Left Prime Minister said makes sense. The most urgent task now is who will control Hexi and Longyou. These two towns are related to the safety of the Tang Dynasty. We must be cautious."

Wei Zhaoxun, who was standing at the back, stepped out and said, "Your Majesty, His Royal Highness Prince Shou is both virtuous and talented. He has won victory after victory against Tubo. He has also commanded the two towns of Helong before, and even recaptured Shibao City for a time. I recommend Prince Shou to command Helong."

Hearing Wei Zhaoxun's words, everyone looked over at once.

Especially Li Linfu and Li Heng.

Li Linfu knew that Li Longji had chosen Li Heng as the candidate in his mind, but he did not expect that Wei Zhaoxun would dare to recommend him without waiting for him to speak. It was obvious that he had received some signal in advance.

Li Heng had a premonition of something.

Historically, after Li Longji abducted Yang Yuhuan, he married Wei Zhaoxun's daughter to him, so the time difference was not much.

Li Longji, sitting on the dragon throne, nodded and asked Li Linfu, "What do you think, Right Prime Minister?"

Li Linfu pretended to think for a moment, then replied, "Prince Rong has recaptured Songzhou in Jiannan this time and successfully negotiated peace with Nanzhao, which shows his ability. I recommend Prince Rong to control Helong."

Li Longji looked at Chen Xilie.

Chen Xilie hesitated for a moment and said, "I agree with the Right Prime Minister's words and recommend Prince Rong."

Li Longji's eyes changed slightly, but he returned to normal in an instant, and asked Li Heng, "What do you think, Prince?"

Li Heng said: "The current deputy governor of Longyou, Geshu Han, has made many military achievements and is very familiar with Longyou. I recommend Geshu Han as the governor of Longyou, and Hexi I recommend my eighteenth brother."

With these three people leading the way, the rest of the people followed suit.

After listening to this, Li Longji said, "Everyone has made recommendations for the sake of the overall situation. But as the Lord said, Shiba Lang previously led Helong and defeated Tubo. Now the situation in Helong is critical and we need a victory urgently. Therefore, I accept the Lord's advice and let Shiba Lang control Helong and serve as the governor of Hexi and Longyou."

Upon hearing this, Li Heng stepped forward and said, "Thank you, father, for your grace. However, I am not feeling well and I am afraid that I will fail to live up to your trust."

Li Longji said: "You don't have to refuse, just focus on dealing with the war with Tubo."

"Father has given the order, I dare not refuse." Li Ying bowed and accepted the order, and then said: "I will definitely do my best, but I am worried that I am unable to control the three towns, so I would like to resign from the post of Jiedushi of Qixi first."

(End of this chapter)