Back to the prosperous Tang Dynasty to be the emperor

Chapter 656 Phase Controversy (4)

It was still a bit cold in the first month of the month. Although there was no snow falling, the wind was strong and whimpering. Even though it was almost noon, the temperature was still very low. Gaozong, who was already weak, was too lazy Move, the cat is in the warm bed, reading idle books to pass the time, occasionally read it to the point of understanding, and let out a chuckle from time to time, the mood is obviously quite good, quite a kind of leisurely life that has been stolen for half a day .

"Report to Your Majesty, His Royal Highness the King of Yue is seeking an audience outside the palace gate."

Just when Gaozong was engrossed in watching it, he heard the sound of small footsteps. A middle-aged eunuch had turned his head out from behind the screen, but he saw him walking quickly to the bed, and bowed respectfully to report.

"Oh? Then announce it."

Although Gaozong had been ignoring government affairs for a long time, he was not in a state of seclusion. He often called some close ministers to talk about the world. King Li Zhen of Yue was one of the frequent visitors. Li Zhen's arrival didn't feel anything strange, so she gave a casual order.

"promise!"

Now that Emperor Gaozong had spoken, the middle-aged eunuch who came to report the letter did not dare to be negligent, and hastily responded, and hurriedly exited the palace. After a short while, he was accompanied by King Li Zhencong, who was in full court uniform. Walked in from outside.

"The old minister kowtows to His Majesty."

As soon as she saw Gaozong's face, Li Zhen rushed to the bed, saluted respectfully and greeted him.

"Excuse me, is starling on duty today? Why, what happened?"

Seeing Li Zhen's neat court uniform, Gao Zong couldn't help being taken aback, and questioned suspiciously.

"Returning to Your Majesty, the old minister is indeed on duty today. If there is any obstacle or difficulty, I really dare not be arbitrary. I have come here to report to Your Majesty."

When Gaozong asked this question, Li Zhen immediately showed a hint of embarrassment on his face, and replied in a hesitant tone.

"Oh? What's so embarrassing?"

Seeing that Li Zhen's complexion was not right, Gaozong's doubts inevitably became stronger, and his brows were slightly frowned because of this.

"Your Majesty, this morning, the empress summoned Zhongshuling Li Jingxuan to ask him to be accountable. Because of the crimes committed by his sons, he has been demoted to the governor of Yuzhou. Now the Zhongshuling is out of order."

Li Zhen made a cautious appearance, and explained in a hurry.

"Huh? There is such a thing? Sigh... Jingxuan has only been cautious in his life, but when he is old, he falls on his children. It is really a pity. Well, the vacancy of Zhongshuling is not a trivial matter, and someone has to make up for it in the end. Who do mynah think can do this?"

Gaozong really didn't know about Li Jingxuan being demoted. Hearing this, he was surprised at first, then sighed, and finally asked the question Li Zhen wanted to hear most.

"This one……"

Although Gaozong asked a question, Li Zhen didn't want to answer immediately, but pondered for a while pretending to be hesitant.

"There are no outsiders here, if myna has something to say, just say it."

Gaozong was not surprised by Li Zhen's hesitation, but because the matter of setting up a minister was important, it was a matter of the emperor's arbitrary decision, and it was not something that others could do as he pleased.

"Then... the old minister is bold and presumptuous. The censor, Gao Zhi, Zhou Decai, and deep rhyme about government affairs are really the best candidates. I can't help but think so, and His Royal Highness is the same. Here is the joint note of His Royal Highness and the old minister." , Your Majesty, please read it."

Hearing this, Li Zhen took half a step back, took out a yellow silk mask from her wide sleeves, raised her hands above her head, then gritted her teeth, and opened her mouth as if making a difficult decision.

"Oh? Gao Zhizhou? Hmm... Does Mei Niang have any opinions?"

Hearing that Li Xian and Li Zhen had jointly signed this chapter, Gao Zong immediately felt a wave of doubts in his heart, he let out a soft sigh, reached out to take the booklet, browsed it casually, and asked hesitantly.

"Returning to Your Majesty, the old minister has only heard some rumors and is not sure. It is said that the empress prefers Wu Chengsi, Shangshu of the Ministry of punishment, to take over the post of Zhongshuling. I don't know if it is true or not."

As soon as Gaozong's words came out, Li Zhen's heart suddenly took a look. Fortunately, the city was deep, and she didn't show any flaws. She just replied with a slightly bitter face.

"Wu Chengsi? It's ridiculous. He's a country farmer who doesn't know much about literature. He can draw up an imperial edict. It's true...forget it. I know about it. I'll discuss it with Meiniang later."

As soon as he heard that Empress Wu wanted to promote Wu Chengsi to take over the order of the book, Gao Zong suddenly burst into a rage and cursed angrily, but in the middle of the curse, the old habit of fear of guilt was committed again. At the end, He didn't dare to directly agree with Li Xian and Li Zhen's joint booklet.

"Your Majesty is wise, and the veteran also thinks that this matter must be cautious, and it is not as good as it was discussed in the early court."

Gaozong's words had the intention of chasing away guests, but Li Zhen didn't intend to leave just like that, so she pretended not to understand, and remonstrated with a flattering smile.

"That's fine, the next day will be morning, I'll go."

For Wu Chengsi, Gao Zong disapproved 12 points, but he also had doubts about Gao Zhizhou. It was not because he disliked Gao Zhizhou, but because he suspected that there was a tacit understanding between Li Xian and Li Zhen. Now, if you have to make a choice, you will naturally choose Gao Zhizhou, but how to choose Zhongshu Ling while maintaining the current balance of the court is a headache for Gaozong. In fact, Tou didn't want to go to the morning court, but he could only reluctantly agree, and generally planned to make a decision based on the situation at that time.

"Your Majesty is wise, the old minister will retire."

Seeing that it was impossible to persuade Gao Zong to make a decision on the spot, Li Zhen couldn't help feeling a little bit disappointed, but he didn't dare to persuade Gao Zong because of the situation. , is enough, with the combined forces of the East Palace and his Yue Palace, there is no doubt that he will gain the upper hand in the court battle, and there is really no need for him to play hard at this time, so he will sue It's a crime, I left the palace and went back to the mansion by myself.

"Come on!"

Gaozong did not go to see Li Zhen off, but sat cross-legged on the couch alone, thinking about his thoughts for a long time, his face constantly changing from cloudy to cloudy, and at the end, he suddenly raised his voice and broke his throat.

"The servant is here!"

Hearing the sound was not right, the eunuchs who were accompanying them outside the bedroom did not dare to neglect, they all rushed into the room, and each bowed to answer.

"Go, invite my general empress!"

Gaozong got up irritably, walked back and forth in the dormitory for a few steps, flicked his sleeves, and gave the order with a rather excited expression.

"promise!"

Seeing that Emperor Gaozong's expression was not right, all the accompanying eunuchs were surprised, but no one dared to ask random questions, they could only bow down and leave without mentioning it.

"The concubine has seen the emperor."

Emperor Gaozong was summoned, and Empress Wu came very quickly, and within a short while led a group of eunuchs, big and small, into the palace. When she saw Gaozong pacing back and forth in front of the couch with a face full of anxiety, there was a gleam in her eyes immediately. The haze flashed by, but he didn't dare to be rude because of it, but it was a blessing to see him walking forward gently with lotus steps, stepping towards Gaozong gracefully.

"Meiniang is here, um, what happened to Li Jingxuan?"

Gaozong originally planned to ask Empress Wu why he promoted Wu Chengsi and other wastes when he saw Empress Wu, but when he really saw Empress Wu, Gaozong's courage disappeared. Baba asked a way.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, this morning, my concubine received an impeachment chapter from Li Shi, the censor, saying that Li Jingxuan's son was evil. In the fish and meat town, my concubine dared not ignore it, so I hurriedly called Li Jingxuan to ask for details. After confrontation, Li Jingxuan pleaded guilty to all the crimes committed. The concubine thought that he was not strict in teaching his son, which was a big mistake. Thinking of his years of hard work, he could not bear the heavy responsibility. Therefore, he was demoted as the governor of Yuzhou. Although the sentencing was slightly It's a bit more lenient, but it's not too much, the concubine wanted to report to His Majesty when they were eating at noon, but I don't know who spread the rumors without telling the concubine, and made His Majesty anxious, he deserves to be punished! "

Empress Wu is not a very gentle master, explanations belong to explanations, but she didn't forget that Li Zhen was charged with spreading rumors as soon as she came up.

"This...well, I'm just asking. I'm at ease with Mei Niang's work. It's just that Zhong Shuling is a key position. After all, it's not easy to be vacant for a long time. Well, the sooner someone can be recruited to fill the position, the sooner it will be. Some are also good."

Hearing Empress Wu's unkind words, Gao Zong's already timid heart became even more timid, and he completely forgot the original intention of calling Empress Wu to come, and made some nonsense in a low voice.

"Your Majesty is wise, and my concubine thinks the same way. The position of Zhongshuling is related to the stability of the court. After all, it is necessary to have a trustworthy minister. The concubine thinks that the child Chengsi is reliable and diligent, and has repeatedly made great contributions. It is the right candidate, and the courtiers and concubines will take care of the court on behalf of His Majesty, but they cannot be separated from him even for a moment, and they are easy to use, so let's just use them for the time being, does your Majesty agree with this so-called promotion of virtuous people without avoiding relatives?"

The softer Gaozong became, the harder Empress Wu became. In front of Gaozong, he forced Wu Chengsi out. Although his words were soft, his attitude was very strong.

"This...well, Xian'er and Myna also launched a personal candidate, and suggested that I use Gao Zhizhou. I, um, I want to look again. It will be early in the next day, and then I will see the opinions of the courtiers." Let's decide."

Being forced by Empress Wu, Gaozong immediately panicked. Although he was reluctant to let Wu Chengsi go out of the palm of the hand, he didn't dare to say it clearly, so he had to use Li Xian and Li Zhen to talk about the matter.

"Your Majesty is wise, things should be like this, but the concubine was in a hurry to employ people earlier, and the imperial edict has been issued, so what should I do? Alas, it is all the fault of the concubine, who failed to communicate with His Majesty earlier, which led to this Mistake, it's really my concubine's fault."

Empress Wu didn't intend to really bring this matter to the court, so she pretended to be embarrassing and pleaded guilty, making it clear that she was planning to come to the overlord to force the bow, and use the fait accompli to suppress Gaozong's confession.

"Ah, this..."

As soon as he heard that the edict had been issued, Gaozong was dumbfounded, stunned and didn't know what to say.

(End of this chapter)