His Majesty Li Er was stunned for a moment. He did not expect that the always docile Li Yuanjia would refute him, but after thinking about it carefully, he understood Li Yuanjia's intention. On the one hand, he was admonishing himself, and on the other hand, he was indeed trying to win over Fang Jun.
He couldn't help but sneer and said: "King Han is very protective of your brother-in-law. I hope Fang Jun will appreciate your kindness and tear down the door of your house less often in the future."
Li Yuanjia's face turned red and his ears turned red, and he remained silent.
Just when His Majesty Li Er was about to speak, he remembered Li Yuanjia's advice just now... Military Aircraft Department?
He almost forgot about this yamen established by Fang Jun before the Eastern Expedition. It was nominally the highest command body of the imperial army... Who are the military ministers?
It took me a while to think about it, and my expression became even weirder.
Among the military ministers who were originally established, Changsun Wuji was defeated and died, Li Jing completely surrendered to the East Palace, Xiao Yu led the Jiangnan nobles to form an alliance with the Shandong family to jointly assist the prince, and Fang Jun himself... If this will remove Fang Jun from the right guard When the general's proposal is brought to the military plane, it is very likely that he, the emperor, will be isolated by the other people.
Is it possible that when Fang Jun asked for the establishment of a military aircraft office, he had already thought that this situation would arise, in order to restrict the authority of his emperor?
If this is really the case, then he is simply a monster...
After thinking for a while, His Majesty Li Er said: "We will discuss this matter at the court meeting in a few days."
At this time, the matter of deposing General Fang Jun's right garrison must not be submitted to the Military Aircraft Department. If those few people join forces to force the matter to fail, not only will it be difficult for Guo to seize Fang Jun's military power, but the emperor's authority will also be undermined. Forced weakening, this is absolutely unacceptable to His Majesty Li Er.
We have to find a way to abolish this "Military Aircraft Department" of Lao Shizi...
Finally, Li Yuanjia asked for instructions: "Now Changsun Wuji has died in Dayun Temple, and his body has not yet been transported back to the city. May I ask if your Majesty has any instructions for his funeral?"
As Zong Zhengqing, it is not his duty to worry about Changsun Wuji's funeral, but Changsun Wuji's status is different after all. Who doesn't know His Majesty Li Er's favor for Queen Wende? Now that Queen Wende's brother has passed away, even though she rebelled first, she still needs to ask for instructions.
His Majesty Li Er pondered for a moment, sighed, and said: "Let the eldest grandson's family hold the funeral ceremony at Dayun Temple. Then inform the prince later and let him pay homage in a private capacity. This can be regarded as a tribute to Queen Wende that I and my sons have." An explanation from the spirit in heaven.”
In any case, Changsun Wuji's identity as a rebel cannot be erased. Even though he is dead, allowing him to have a funeral is considered an extrajudicial favor, and there is no way he can be allowed to have it in the Duke Zhao's mansion in Chang'an.
But after all, he is the brother of Queen Wende, the uncle of several sons, and even more so his hero. At this moment, His Majesty Li Er softened his heart...
Li Yuanjia understood deeply and understood that Changsun Wuji's crimes would probably end with his death and would not affect the family too much. After all, His Majesty Li Er did not want to severely punish the mother clan of Queen Wende.
"After receiving the edict, the humble minister will definitely tell the prince to pay attention to his words and deeds, and cancel all honors and honors for the prince."
"That's it. Let's go do some work. I'm a little tired."
"Here! Weichen (last general) retires!"
When Li Yuanjia and Li Junxian exited the side hall, His Majesty Li Er sat alone in the hall which had completely darkened, and remained motionless for a long time.
*****
Early the next morning, the city gate had just opened, and Li Yuanjia rode out of the city dressed in casual clothes and went straight to the Youtunwei camp to meet the prince.
Li Chengqian summoned him in the camp, and Fang Jun accompanied him.
Hearing that His Majesty Li Er asked him to go to Dayun Temple to express condolences to Changsun Wuji, Li Chengqian was a little reluctant, but he also knew that His Majesty Li Er's will could not be changed...
He could only nod his head and said: "I know, I will clean up later and then go to Dayun Temple."
Li Yuanjia added: "Your Majesty means that His Highness will go as a private person, without the prince's ceremonial guard or the crown prince's robes. He is just a nephew attending the funeral of his uncle."
Li Chengqian is not an idiot and understands what His Majesty Li Er means: "Father, don't you intend to involve yourself in Guanlong's rebellion?"
Li Yuanjia nodded and said: "That's right. After all, the situation in Guanzhong is still unstable now. After the defeat of the Guanlong families, people are even more panicked. If they are implicated for the crime of treason, there will be another bloody storm. Those who were arrested before All the Guanlong disciples will also be released."
Then he looked at Fang Jun and said helplessly: "Even the death of King Jing was excused because the Youtun guards failed to distinguish between ourselves and the enemy and were accidentally injured, and the blame was put on you, Erlang. I am also in front of your majesty. I argued with reason, but His Majesty has made up his mind, and I have no other choice. Even my proposal to leave the matter to the Military Aircraft Division was rejected by Your Majesty. A few days later there will be a meeting on the first day of the new year. I think that by that time, Your Majesty will You do it."
Although this generous brother-in-law often kicked the door of his house and embarrassed him, to be fair, he still loved the house and the bird very much. Now seeing that this brother-in-law, who was originally a great man with great achievements and a promising future, is about to fail in his career and become idle, I feel sorry for him.
This time the military power was seized by Guo, which meant that Fang Jun would bid farewell to the center of imperial power completely, and he would want to come back again, who knows what year and month...
Li Chengqian was also filled with guilt and sighed: "It's Gu who has troubled Erlang."
On the contrary, Fang Jun himself was broad-minded and disapproved. He poured tea for the two of them with a smile and said: "It doesn't matter to me whether I have military power or not. From the beginning to the end, my ambition is not to be a powerful minister who can influence the government." .The reason why I lead troops to fight is just due to chance. Moreover, when it comes to the art of commanding troops, it is because I am not good at it... I can rebuild the academy wholeheartedly, cultivate talents proficient in various majors in the academy, and use them to influence My ideal lies in the entire empire, eliminating the previous culture of lay officials guiding experts at all levels, so that everyone in the world can make the best use of their talents and resources."
It is impossible to live with nature without grudges and to be happy with it. Fang Jun is also a common man, and he is also addicted to the joy of having tens of thousands of tigers under his command and being invincible at the point of his sword, but this is indeed not his ambition.
What if he became a military god and led the Tang army to conquer half the world?
The Tang Dynasty is still the Tang Dynasty, and hidden dangers still exist. The "Anshi Rebellion" will still happen under a different name and in the same way. The empire will still collapse when it is at its peak, divide and rejoin, rise and fall. This is the trajectory of a dynasty. People can avoid it.
Why should we fight fearlessly in the face of such social trends?
Since the hope of taking power and eliminating the clans has failed, then he should concentrate on cultivating professional talents. When in the future, academies students will flood all levels of the empire and squeeze aside those mediocre people who govern the world with a book of sages, his ideal will still remain the same. can be realised.
To put it bluntly, he has a vision and a mind that transcends the times. Regardless of whether it is the Sui Dynasty or the Tang Dynasty, even a great Han Dynasty is just a wave in history. If the internal struggle does not cause great damage to the vitality and give foreigners an opportunity to invade from the border and massacre the Chinese Miao people, what does it matter who becomes the emperor?
Besides, he was only a mortal body, and he lived to be a hundred years old. How many years could he protect the Tang Dynasty?
The most important thing is to be able to pass on his experience and knowledge that transcends the times, so that he can live up to his experience after thousands of years...
Seeing that Fang Jun was really not depressed because his military power was taken away by Guo, both Li Chengqian and Li Yuanjia admired him. A man wakes up to take power in the world. How many people face such setbacks without changing their expressions and taking it calmly? This magnanimity and magnanimity alone far surpassed those of the other princes in the DPRK.
Fang Jun did not lament or complain, which made Li Chengqian feel less guilty and full of gratitude. He smiled and said, "Erlang, do you want to accompany Gu to go to Dayun Temple to express condolences, and also to see those defeated generals of yours?"
Fang Jun shook his head with a smile: "A bunch of local chickens and dogs' ears are still dreaming about their achievements twenty years ago. They can't win without force. Besides, the situation in the DPRK is turbulent now. If I go to pay homage with His Highness, It will inevitably cause misunderstandings to those in Jiangnan and Shandong, which is not good."
The most embarrassing thing at the moment is that the powerful families in Shandong and Jiangnan are preparing to enter the center of the court. Guanlong will be defeated and will be purged. Countless powerful positions will be vacant, waiting for the powerful people in the two places to occupy them, completely replacing Zhenguan and Guanlong in controlling the government. pattern.
However, His Majesty Li Er's heart is as solid as stone. This puts the families of the two places in a dilemma and a dilemma. If you still support the prince, you will inevitably be suppressed by His Majesty Li Er. If you turn to your Majesty, you will be ridiculed as having no position and being opportunistic. .
The East Palace previously hoped to rely on the remnants of Guanlong to resist the control of the government by the clans of the two places. Now if the clans of the two places mistakenly believe that the East Palace is still wary of them, they will find excuses and completely surrender to His Majesty.
Li Chengqian smiled bitterly and said: "Today, Gu has completely given up hope. Why should Erlang go to the tiger mountain when he knows that there are tigers in the mountain?"
From Fang Jun's unwillingness to cause misunderstandings between the two places, it can be seen that he has not completely given up on confronting His Majesty.
Fang Jun said in a deep voice: "You can give up the reserve position, but how can you not protect His Highness's life? Relying solely on the influence of the ministers and the British princes may not be able to force His Majesty to make concessions, but if the clans in Shandong and Jiangnan use all their strength, Yes, no matter how willful your Majesty is, you will not dare to have your own way."
The irony is that Li Chengqian had already expressed his intention to continue His Majesty Li Er's strategy of suppressing powerful families, and Fang Jun was resolute in pursuing this national policy. But now he is trying to win over powerful families in Shandong and Jiangnan to put pressure on His Majesty and save Li Chengqian's life.
Li Yuanjia closed his eyes and rested at the side, turning a deaf ear to Fang Jun's somewhat treacherous remarks...
Immediately, Li Chengqian took a shower and changed into a set of regular clothes. He took a few guards with him, without any guard of honor for the prince. In a light car, Jian Cong and Li Yuanjia went to Dayun Temple to express their condolences.
A few days later, on the first day of the Lunar New Year, His Majesty Li Er held his first royal meeting after returning to Beijing.
Countless officials swarmed in, and the atmosphere inside and outside Chang'an was tense. Everyone knew that His Majesty would definitely attack the East Palace during this court meeting...
(End of chapter)
