Back to the prosperous Tang Dynasty to be the emperor

Chapter 62
"Your Highness, His Royal Highness King Zhou is waiting outside the palace gate."

In the study room of the Xiande Palace in the East Palace, Li Hongzheng was discussing matters with Yan Liben, Liu Daoxiang and other court officials in low voices. Wang Dequan, the deputy head of the Xiande Palace, hurried in, leaned beside Li Hong, and reported the report in a low voice.

"Oh?" Li Hong was taken aback when he heard the words, then rolled his eyes slightly, and suddenly laughed, he waved his hands to Yan, Liu and other confidant ministers and said: "Everyone, please sit here for a while, let Gu go After meeting with my seventh brother, we can discuss later."

"Your Majesty's order is to be obeyed."

Now that Li Hong said so, all the ministers would not object, they all bowed their promises, and watched Li Hong lead a group of young eunuchs out of the study.

"The younger brother sees the elder brother of the prince."

Accompanied by Wang Dequan, Li Xian walked into the main hall of Xiande Hall, and he saw Li Honggao sitting in the big seat on the front wall, it was like a match between the monarch and his ministers, and he couldn't help grumbling in his heart, But at this moment, Li Xian couldn't tolerate any other expressions, so he could only take a few steps, rush forward, and salute respectfully to say hello.

"Forget it, the seventh brother is so eager to find a brother, but is there something important?"

Li Hong accepted Li Xian's gift calmly, then raised his hand gently, and asked with a smile.

something?Forget it, isn't this asking knowingly?What is this kid trying to do with such a posture?How many times has Li Xian been to the East Palace, and he has never encountered a time when Li Hong is putting on airs like this, and he feels somewhat uncomfortable in his heart, but it doesn't show on his face. But the answer in Li was still very fluent: "Returning to the elder brother of the prince, the younger brother has already been to the British government, and he is lucky enough to fulfill his mission."

"Oh? Is that so? Does Ying Gong have anything to say?" Li Hong had already received a tip about Li Xian's visit to the British government, although he didn't know exactly what Li Xian had talked with Li Ji. But the result was already expected early on, but Li Hong didn't want to tell the truth, but asked with a smile.

Pretend, you keep pretending, small sample, don’t you just feel that gentleness is not enough, and you are going to overwhelm others with force, just wait and see!Li Xian is very shrewd, with just a few words, he has already seen through Li Hong's intentions, so he doesn't care about it, no matter what Li Hong does, Li Xian will never go on his boat , this is not a matter of feelings, but a matter of wealth and life, there is no choice!

"Returning to the words of the prince's elder brother, the younger brother relayed his elder brother's congratulations. The old man Yinggong only said that he was grateful for the kindness of the father and emperor, but his body was not good enough to bear the long journey. He also said that the old injury had relapsed and he had to stay in bed for recuperation, so he could only leave with regret. As for the rest, I didn’t say much about it.” Li Xian had his own opinion in his heart, and he didn’t get offended by Li Hong’s putting on airs. opinion.

"So that's it. It's hard work for the seventh brother. Well, since Da Sikong is inconvenient, the emperor must not be too reluctant, and I don't know what advice the seventh brother has for this matter?" Li Hong listened to Li Xian's description quietly, and saw Li Xian. Xian didn't have any comments on this matter, so he frowned slightly, glanced at Li Xian meaningfully, and asked in a low tone.

See you?What can I say? On the way to the East Palace, Li Xian had repeatedly deduced the overall situation several times, and he was not optimistic about Li Hong's deeds of making it clear that chariots and horses competed with Empress Wu—in Li Xian's opinion However, Empress Wu's tricks are not something that Li Hong can predict. How could Li Hong be able to hide from Empress Wu's eyes and ears by acting so vigorously this time? It is inevitable that he will be hit head-on. Unless Empress Wu wants to rebel openly, otherwise, Gaozong's cowardly temperament will not refute Empress Wu's request under normal circumstances. From a point of view, as a prince, Li Hong contacted important ministers on such a large scale, which is really a big taboo. Even if Gaozong was not a competent emperor, he would definitely not tolerate such behavior. Li Xian could already say with certainty that Li Hong would definitely lose, how could Li Xian step into such a losing situation?
"My brother has no objection, so that the elder brother of the prince can know that the younger brother is currently practicing martial arts at a critical juncture. I am afraid that I have no time to take care of other things. Please ask the elder brother of the prince, Haihan." Since Li Xian has decided not to participate He didn't intend to board Li Hong's boat, so he simply evaded it.

"Huh?" Li Hong obviously didn't expect Li Xian to answer like this, so he couldn't help but froze, looked at Li Xian suspiciously, saw that his face was extremely calm, and he couldn't see any flaws, his heart sank involuntarily, and he opened his mouth He wanted to speak, but he forced himself to hold back, looked around, waved his hand and said, "You all stand down."

"promise."

Now that the crown prince had issued the order, Wang Dequan and the other eunuchs and maids waiting in the palace did not dare to be negligent, and each bowed and left as promised, only the two younger brothers were left facing each other in the empty hall.

"Seventh brother, I know that you are a smart person. You should know the principle that one chopsticks are easy to break and ten chopsticks are hard to break. The ancients said: Brothers are united, and their sharpness can break gold. There is a lot to do now. I hope that the seventh brother can help you." The brothers help each other, if things are in harmony, being a brother is not a stingy person, the seventh brother should know." After the two brothers stood in silence for a long time, Li Hong took the lead in breaking the dead silence, and spoke earnestly, showing the true nature in his expression .

The truth is so, but it is a pity that things are not as easy as Li Hong said. For people like Empress Wu, it is almost impossible to overthrow them all at once. Victory, trying to eat into a fat man in one go, the result can only be his own death. In Li Xian's view, if Li Hongzhen wants to deal with Empress Wu, he must not just stare at Empress Wu blindly, but must first cut off her wings, and then slowly If not, there will be no place for defeat. Of course, it doesn't mean that you can't do it on Empress Wu at all, but you can only do it occasionally. From last year to now, in less than a year, the first imperial edict The prison case, followed by the posthumous posthumous case, was endlessly uproarious, not to mention scaring the snake, it almost hurt Empress Wu. Under such circumstances, how could Empress Wu not fight back?As for Empress Wu's temperament, if she doesn't make a move, it will be fine. If she makes a move, it will be landslides and ground cracks. It is obviously impossible for Li Hong to resist the anger of Empress Wu. Li Xian naturally has no reason to be a martyr. To do something for the sake of doing something, in the situation of being unable to support it, it is natural that it is important to be wise and protect yourself.

"The prince's elder brother is serious. The minister is a blunt and foolish generation. It is really difficult to take on a big responsibility. Today, he has not learned the art, and it is useless. The prince's brother's kindness is really worthy of being a minister." No matter how affectionate Li Hong said, there was nothing he could do. Li Xian had already made up his mind, so he would not be moved by it, so he declined without hesitation.

"Seventh brother, you..."

Seeing that Li Xian didn't eat hard and soft, although Li Hong had a good temper, he couldn't help but get angry, and he suddenly got up, pointing at Li Xian and wanted to scold him, but when the words came to his mouth, he felt that something was wrong, so he had to Forcibly took it back, speechless, full of anger.

"Brother Prince, have you ever used tofu?"

Seeing that Li Hong was in a hurry, Li Xian couldn't help feeling a little apologetic. After all, Li Hong had always taken care of Li Xian, and the relationship between brothers was still there. Besides, Li Xian didn't want Li Hong to fall too fast. After pondering for a while, some sons suddenly asked a strange question.

"Huh? How do you say this?"

Li Hongben was in a fit of anger, when he suddenly heard that Li Xian asked such a strange question, he couldn't help being taken aback, and asked suspiciously.

"The tofu used by the prince's brother must have been cooked. He must have never seen freshly baked tofu. The hot soy milk only needs a few drops of brine to become tofu immediately. The freshly baked tofu is the most tender. , looking at the water Lingling, smelling the fragrance, but unfortunately I can't taste it, otherwise, I'm afraid I will burn my mouth. When I was young, I didn't know this, but I had suffered a great crime when I was greedy. Thinking back, I still have heart palpitations." Li Xian said in a self-deprecating manner, although there were many words, there was actually one truth - hot tofu could not be eaten in a hurry!
"Oh? There is such a thing? The seventh brother was really careless. That's all. The seventh brother has difficulties, and he doesn't want to be strong as a brother. I don't want to be strong." Li Hong is not an ignorant person, so he can feel it. The intention behind Li Xian's words, but he didn't want to act according to his words. After all, in his opinion, since Li Ji is willing to cooperate, things will be very promising. One more Li Xian is not more, and one less Li Xian Not a lot, there is really no need to push Li Xian too hard, it is better to hold back, maybe there will be a chance to draw Li Xian into his own camp in the future, it is precisely because of this consideration that Li Hong's expression softened, After agreeing with a smile, he issued an order to evict the guest.

"Your brother, leave." It is the best result not to tear yourself apart from the prince. Li Xian has no reason to stay any longer. As soon as Li Hong finished speaking, Li Xian saluted respectfully, turned around and left. After leaving the main hall, he walked all the way out of the East Palace, and drove to his own mansion in a carriage.

"Your Majesty, please see me."

In the study room of Xiande Hall, a group of senior officials were discussing in low voices, when they suddenly saw Li Hong walking in with a sullen expression, they hurriedly got up to see each other.

"No, just sit down."

Not being able to recruit Li Xian under his command, Li Hong's mood was indeed not very good, and there was a trace of tiredness in his tone.

"Your Highness, His Royal Highness King Zhou is here..."

Seeing that Li Hong's expression was a little off, all the ministers dared not move a little. After looking at each other, Yan Liben stood up and asked a question.

"Well, Da Sikong Li has agreed to submit his resignation. As for the seventh brother, let's not mention it. I'll get on with the business." Li Hong didn't want to mention Li Xian's matter, so he said vaguely, Straight to the point, the ministers didn't dare to ask the details casually when they saw this, they could only have doubts in their hearts, and then discussed the topic that was half discussed before.

(End of this chapter)