"Li Langzhong used to be a hard-working king when he was in the imperial court. Since I became the prime minister, he has helped me. Now he can be called sick, and he is worried about the country. He aspires to avoid power and is content, and he is tired of changing his tune. After a long time, it’s time to relieve the difficulties!" Guo Rong mentioned the three people Wei Renpu, but suddenly the conversation changed and he mentioned Li Gu, a doctor in the Ministry of Rites.
These people didn't know Guo Rong's intention. Suddenly they heard the emperor praise the three people directly, and they became a little nervous for a while. Because the three of Wei Renpu didn't just stay in Tokyo for a day or two, but they had been working in the court since the founding of the Zhou Kingdom.
As the saying goes, abnormality is a monster. When I heard the emperor's words, although I couldn't hear the irony, they were somewhat thought-provoking. So he spoke slowly to the emperor, and the three of them did not dare to respond for the time being. You Qi originally praised the three people, but suddenly he turned to Li Gu, which naturally made people feel even more confused.
After all, this doctor became a Jinshi after he attained the imperial title. He was a rare talent in the court. He successively served as an official in the Later Jin Dynasty, the Later Han Dynasty, and even this dynasty. However, the people who served were either the supervisory censor, Taichang Cheng, or the current official department. Everyone in the world knows that he is a strong-willed man and a very good talker.
At that time, people said that Wang Pu could recommend scholars, but Li Gu could know people!
Although the three of them heard the emperor praising themselves and even looked like they were taking on important tasks, they thought that the Li Gu he mentioned did not come into the palace, and Wang Pu did not show up either. But the emperor said this in front of Princess Wei and Zhang Yongde, so some people couldn't help but feel a little uneasy.
Even Zhang Yongde on the side can be regarded as a veteran in officialdom.
Even though he has become an extremely popular minister, he is still considered a leader from the grassroots level, and he still knows a little about how those in power control their subordinates. I was naturally a little surprised when I saw Guo Rong suddenly mentioning this, but Li Gu didn't call him over.
Zhang Yongde understood better than these people, because Li Gu had the emperor's favor and trust in him, whether he was in the temple or accompanying the emperor in the curtains. The affairs of the imperial court can be said to be very detailed, and many of them require his participation. As well as the current dependence of the imperial court on him, ordinary ministers cannot replace him.
Of course, there is another thing about Li Gu that is the most talked about among the officials.
That is because he was friendly with Han Xizai of the Southern Tang Dynasty. Some people say that he and Han Xizai were classmates at the time. Regardless of whether this is true or not, there has been a good story circulating in Tokyo.
That is, it is said that when Han Xizai broke up with Li Gu in Zhengyang, he had some heroic words. At that time, because the current state of Tang was still Yang Wu, he said that if the state of Wu used me as prime minister, I would definitely drive to conquer the Central Plains. At that time, Li Gu said with a smile: If the Central Plains takes me as prime minister, I will take the Wu Kingdom as if I were searching for something from a bag!
Not only the officials but also Taizu and the current emperor knew about this.
Because the emperor adopted Li Gu as his prime minister, he even consulted him on his strategy and conquered the land of Huainan in three expeditions to the Southern Tang Dynasty. Although Li Gu was said to be timid and not suitable for war, his strategy guided three southern expeditions, so it can be said that he took the land of Wu. And it is true that the emperor also listed Fan Zhi, Li Gu, and Wang Pu as ministers. However, Han Xizai, who is far away in the south, is still depressed and frustrated.
However, today, when the emperor summoned ministers to the palace, he did not call Li Gu, but called two privy envoys. This was obviously something wrong!
Some people say that Li Gu is not in good health now and does not need to personally intervene in many matters, but when it comes to important matters in the court, it seems that he has never been left alone. And what exactly happened this time?
Could it be that the emperor had other plans?
Although he showed his virtue for four years, Wei Renpu, as the privy envoy, inspected the school as a tutor and even granted the title of Founding Duke. But in this era when the Jiedushi are independent, how many Jiedushi can the emperor control? Can the Privy Council direct the Jiedushi?
Because Fan Zhi returned from the southern expedition to Shouzhou with the emperor, he was also granted a title and a city, and was even listed as one of the privy envoys. He especially took the lead in formulating the imperial court's "Xingtong". This year when the emperor was on his northern expedition, although Fan Zhi stayed in the capital due to illness, the emperor gave him a million dollars to treat his illness. This shows the emperor's respect for Fan Zhi and the importance he paid to these important ministers. It also shows the emperor's importance to the Privy Council and his desire for military power.
As for the other person who came today, Wang Pu, he was originally a Privy Councilor, a scholar of Zhongshu, and a Hanlin scholar. He also became a minister of household affairs, a bachelor of Duanming Palace, and later became an important minister of the Ministry of Rites. Of course, what Wang Pu is more famous for is that when the emperor was planning to conquer Shu, he once asked Wang Pu who he should find as the commander-in-chief.
Later, Wang Pu recommended the imperial city to General Shenwu Xiang Gong to the emperor, and he successfully captured Qin and Feng states. The emperor once toasted Wang Pu in front of the civil and military officials of the court and said: Choose a commander for me, and the person who has achieved great achievements in the frontier is Wang Aiqing!
However, in the fourth year of Xiande's reign, Wang Pu suffered the death of his father. However, after only three years of mourning, it was reactivated by the imperial court. At that time, Wang Pu was very stubborn and went to court four times to request that the mourning period expire. Here the emperor and Prime Minister Fan Zhi sang a play together, that is, the emperor looked at his watch and became furious, and Fan Zhi made a request. In the end, Wang Pu was afraid of bringing down his family, so he entered the court to apologize and continue to serve.
From early summer to the present, Wang Pu has also participated in the affairs of the Privy Council, and together with Fan Zhi and Wei Renpu, he has become one of the three most important ministers of the Privy Council of Zhou.
Now that the emperor's Northern Expedition has failed, although he has not yet issued an edict to the world, this Northern Expedition captured three passes and three states in a row, totaling 17 counties. It was really a great victory for the Zhou Kingdom. Among them, Ningzhou, Mozhou, and Yingzhou are the keys to going north. From now on, Youzhou is within easy reach. Yijin Pass and Waqiao Pass fell into the hands of Khitan in the 22nd year. This should be a major event in the Central Plains for decades.
This kind of happy event naturally led to a lot of speculation because many people died of illness.
Maybe seeing no one responding to him, Guo Rong didn't mean to be angry, but looked at Zhang Yongde: "My sister-in-law is also young and promising. Although I haven't commanded the army for a long time, I have always been grateful for the kindness of the late emperor, for fear that the imperial lineage would remain. His bones and blood have been lost. Every time I think about the tragic death of the emperor’s brother and sister, I can’t help but feel sad and uneasy in my heart!”
Seeing that the emperor's eyes were wet, these people quickly shouted to His Majesty to take care of himself. Although I don't know if the emperor was just showing off, it was obvious that Guo Rong felt sad when he mentioned the execution of Taizu and his family members.
"Your Majesty, take care!" Zhang Yongde took a step forward. He was actually not old yet, several years younger than Emperor Guo Rong. However, because he was less than twenty-eight years old when he was promoted to the position of inspector in front of the palace in the third year of Xiande, he can be said to be a rare high-ranking official in the court. Although after returning from the Northern Expedition at the end of last year, his position in front of the palace was idle, he took the position of the imperial inspector in the middle of the court when he was just 30 years old.
No one in the court understood that this was due to rumors spread everywhere. Although no one has verified the authenticity of this rumor, since the emperor has not said it himself, no one will investigate it. Moreover, if this matter is investigated, it has no practical significance.
"Your Majesty has a profound meaning in his actions. Nowadays, there are many talents in the court, and the humble ministers are just the rise of Emperor Taizu. Now that your majesty has not given up, he is still a high official and well-paid, and the humble ministers are often worried about themselves!" Seeing the emperor seemed a little sad. , Zhang Yongde not only comforted the emperor, but also expressed gratitude to the court and the emperor for their kindness to him. Dealing with this kind of scene is also a kind of helplessness and boredom.
Seeing this scene where the king and his ministers were enjoying themselves, it was natural for the group of people not to interrupt. But thinking that the emperor called people over, something must have happened. However, seeing that the emperor was still grieving, everyone could only look at each other. However, because Fan Zhi had a good personal relationship with King Wei, he also visited Princess Wei. At this time, when he saw Princess Wei standing there without saying a word, he couldn't help but look towards her.
Princess Wei seemed to understand the meaning instantly, but her expression did not change. Instead, she saluted and said: "Your Majesty, take care of your dragon body!"
Perhaps Princess Wei's comfort made Guo Rong remember not to be rude, so he coughed lightly and held back the tears that were about to burst out of his eyes. He turned his head as if to control his gaffe, and then looked at Fu Diqing at the side after a moment: "County Master, what time is it in the first month of the month today?"
"The eighth day of June, Your Majesty!"
Fu Diqing's voice was very sober in this hall, and she answered Guo Rong's words very crisply.
"The eighth day of the Lunar New Year! It's already the eighth day of the Lunar New Year!" Guo Rong seemed to be muttering to himself, but then he turned his head and looked at Wang Pu: "Wang Aiqing, how about you start drafting the decree?"
"Your Majesty, please give me your instructions!" Hearing that the emperor finally got to the point, Wang Pu took a step forward with relief and respectfully accepted the order.
! ! !
"General, what are you thinking about?"
Seeing Ji Hongchang standing in front of the window in a daze, Dong Jie looked at the rain outside the window that seemed to have lightened up a lot, but the sky had also darkened, and he couldn't help but ask.
A spy just came to report that the Xiangguo Temple was attacked by the Imperial Army, and it was said that there were numerous casualties.
Although this was already expected, when the emperor actually gave the order, things still became cruel. Of course, these people are not fuel-efficient. When they know this fact, they see something behind the scenes.
Because the Forbidden Army blocked all roads, ordinary people could not approach. However, judging from the people taken away by the Forbidden Army, there were several monks of the Qing Dynasty and several lawyers with higher seniority among them. This moment caused an uproar in the city of Tokyo. Even if it rained heavily, it could not stop the spread of this incident.
The imperial army completely destroyed Xiangguo Temple, destroyed the prestige of the New Zhangzong for decades, and even declared the court's suppression of Buddhism. Although it cannot be said publicly that it is destroying Buddhism, at least in the north and even the Central Plains, this is not a good thing.
"If I'm not wrong, what the boss predicted is really going to happen! We need to take action immediately. You must summon the 108 party members in Tokyo immediately. They must mobilize and be ready for orders at any time." Ji Hongchang looked serious. , quietly looking at the drizzle outside the window and the darkening sky: "Something big is going to happen in Tokyo tomorrow!" (To be continued...)
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