Outside the Zhuque Gate, Li Xuan walked among the kings and left the palace together.
The other officials who came out of the palace had dispersed in twos and threes, either gathering together or going home individually.
In front of him, King Zheng Li Jing stopped. Li Xuan subconsciously raised his head and saw King Li Yuanjia of Han standing in front of the kings.
"On the third day of the Lunar New Year, all the kings, princes, princes and princes of the imperial clan in the capital will bring their families to the prince's palace for a family banquet. No one shall be absent without excuse." King Li Yuanjia of Han looked at several young princes and princes. He glanced across his face, chuckled, and said: "Those who are absent without reason will follow the family law!"
"Here!" Li Xuan quickly accepted the offer.
In the Tang Dynasty, clan law had the same authority as laws.
Even if someone is beaten to death according to clan law, the government will approve it after reviewing it and it is consistent with the law.
The same is true for the clan. In the imperial family of the Tang Dynasty, the emperor was the patriarch, and Zongzheng of Zongzheng Temple usually acted on his behalf. However, since Zongzhengqing was appointed by a foreign surname, within the clan, Li Yuanjia, the king of Han, the eldest son of Emperor Gaozu, was the emperor. Perform clan duties.
If the emperor wanted to kill a certain clan king, he could kill someone without going to court as long as he gave an explanation and the clan approved it.
Even if this person is a prince, it is the same.
…
After chatting for a few words with Li Jing, the heir to King Zheng, Li Xuan got on his horse, walked a few steps quickly, met Ouyang Tong, the minister of Weiwei Temple who was waiting outside the palace gate, and headed towards Kaihuafang together.
"What did Liu Weng say to you just now?" Ouyang Tong asked casually.
"Yue Weng asked my nephew to be cautious these days. It is best not to go anywhere except for visiting relatives." Li Xuan told all Liu Rengui's instructions before.
Ouyang Tong nodded slightly, and then said, "You are very eye-catching today!"
"My nephew knows." Li Xuan smiled helplessly and said: "When we were acting in Wuzhou, there was a lot of pressure from all parties, so my nephew had to rely on the help of the prince. Therefore, he reported many real facts in the memorial. Although everything later was abbreviated. There are priorities, but most of them are facts; later on during the trip to Hangzhou, Shangshu Pei kept a close eye on him, so my nephew had no choice but to go back to the old business...Uncle, the power to act on this matter is not in my nephew's hands."
"Your Majesty did it on purpose." Ouyang Tong raised his head calmly and took a deep look at Li Xuan.
Li Xuan nodded silently, sighed softly at the end, and looked in front of him. In front of him was a lively scene in Chang'an.
New Year, new atmosphere, new clothes, New Year greetings, family visits, and fun and celebration.
On the first day of the Lunar New Year, every household in Chang'an City was rejoicing. Some held big banquets, while others visited their own homes and ate wherever they went.
Even if you encounter a banquet anywhere, you can say "Happy New Year" and have a meal.
The guests of the Hua Dynasty are buzzing, and the gate hall is congratulating Xinzheng.
Outside the gate of Prince Peng's Mansion, Li Xuan and Ouyang Tong got off their horses. As soon as they entered the door, they saw that the foyer was filled with various gift boxes, the largest of which was a two-lift gift box wrapped in a piece of red silk.
Ouyang of Prince Peng and Princess Liu of Nanchang were counting the gifts in the courtyard. Various precious teas, famous wines, four treasures of the study, porcelain books, calligraphy and paintings, gemstones, medicinal materials, etc. were all New Year's gifts sent to Nanchang Prince's Mansion by various people.
"These are two boxes of new money given by the palace. They cannot be used on the market, but they are very popular among the people. They are used as lucky money. They are said to bring happiness to the palace." Ouyang Tong explained casually.
Every year at the Zhengdan Great Court Meeting, hundreds of officials pay their respects to the emperor. Naturally, the emperor also has various rewards, but most of them are various false titles and royal rewards that cannot be used in the market.
Of course, even for this kind of reward, there are countless wealthy families vying to buy it.
Ouyang Tong stood in the foyer, looked sideways at Li Xuan and said: "On the fourth day of the first lunar month, you go to Honglu Temple, and the province will officially convey the imperial edict and appoint you as the young minister of Honglu Temple. After you go to the palace to express your gratitude, you will You’ve fulfilled your duties, you know what you’re going to do next, right?”
"We have agreed with Silla and Japan to plead compensation and pay tribute to the vassal." Li Xuan said in one sentence very directly.
Ouyang Tong nodded with satisfaction and said: "As for other matters, you don't need to pay attention to them at all. If you handle this matter properly, then nothing else can shake your position as the young minister of Honglu Temple."
"Here!" Li Xuan immediately raised his hands solemnly.
Don't think that everything will be fine once you are appointed as the Shaoqing of Honglu Temple. In fact, everything has just begun.
If Li Xuan did not do well, was incompetent at his job, or even made a major mistake, then the censor would immediately impeach him for neglecting his duties.
Once verified, dismissal and removal from office are frivolous. The key is that it will shake his trust in the heart of the emperor and empress.
"Okay, you two, stop standing there talking. There is food left for you in the side hall. Go and use it." Ouyang walked out of the hall, walked up to Li Xuan, and helped him sort out some court clothes.
Li Xuan looked at the gifts in the hall and asked in a low voice: "What about these?"
"Don't worry, grandma will take care of it. Return gifts from each mansion are indispensable." Ouyang waved her hand, and then rushed Li Xuan and Ouyang Tong to the side hall.
Li Xuan glanced at Liu Jinyu, Liu Jinyu nodded slightly, and Li Xuan felt relieved.
Although there is a banquet in the palace today, there is no way that the banquet in the palace can satisfy everyone.
Li Xuan and her cousin Ouyang Tong were eating and said, "Uncle, my nephew always feels that there is something fishy about what happened today?"
"Which thing? Is it the Tibetan people's strategy to lure the enemy, or is it the fight between Li Jingye and Pei Yan?" Ouyang Tong said casually, making Li Xuan stunned.
"It turns out that uncle knows about it." Li Xuan couldn't help but breathed a sigh of relief.
"A few months ago, these things were in the memorial you wrote after your visit to Your Majesty. The actions of the Tibetan people today just confirm this, but..." Ouyang Tong raised his head, looked at Li Xuan, and asked in a deep voice : "Dalang, have you ever thought about what if all this was done deliberately by the Tubo people?"
Li Xuan's face suddenly became solemn, and then she nodded heavily and said, "I've thought about it."
Taking a deep breath, Li Xuan said: "It has been several months since my nephew's memorial was sent to me. No matter how stupid the Tubo people are, they should still get some information. Therefore, they used deliberate methods to deliberately anger the DPRK and try to lure the DPRK." A large army is going on an expedition, and a large army is being prepared on the plateau in preparation for a big war. This is a superficial phenomenon.
But at a deeper level, if there are wise people in the court who see through the conspiracy, work hard and steadily, and do not act rashly, it will delay the march of the army and give Tubo more time to react. Perhaps this is actually what Tubo wants to do. "
"It can be positive or negative, it can be positive or negative, and if you add to it what you said, the King of Tubo is seriously ill, and it is difficult to determine whether it is true or false. How should the DPRK and the Central Government deal with this situation?" Ouyang Tong He put down the wine glass in his hand and looked at Li Xuan solemnly.
"With me as the leader, I will choose the right time, favorable location, and harmony to attack them." Li Xuan took a deep breath and spoke out her plan.
"The imaginary is real, the real is imaginary. He is counting on me, and I am counting on the enemy. In early April, a light cavalry from the court will quickly attack the Tibetan border, but it will spin back. Let's see what the Tubo people's intentions are? Ouyang Tong looked at Li Xuan instructingly and said in a deep voice: "The overall situation should be given priority, and the attack method should be to advance or flank with partial troops."
"My nephew understands the way of combining righteousness and strangeness." Li Xuan nodded seriously.
Ouyang Tong said in a deep voice: "In the battle of Dafeichuan, although the time, place, and people were favorable, the Tubo prime minister was very good at talking about Qinling's military use of gods and ghosts, and he also calculated people's hearts. Therefore, Xue Li's ability to defeat them was the reason. A disastrous defeat in Da Feichuan.”
Li Xuan nodded gently. He actually knew the truth about the defeat of Dafeichuan better than anyone else.
After all, in addition to the positive statements from Xue Rengui and others, he also had negative statements from Guo Daifeng's son Guo regret.
After all, no one wanted the army to be defeated back then, but Lun Qinling really seized a small, insignificant opportunity.
"This time we fight Tibet again, we must be extremely careful. The Art of War says that if you know yourself and the enemy, you can fight a hundred battles without danger. If you know yourself and don't know the enemy, and don't let the enemy know you, you have half a chance of winning." Ouyang Tong sighed softly.
Li Xuan looked at his cousin Ouyang Tong and said softly: "Uncle, please forgive my nephew for being offensive. Will my uncle also go on the Western Expedition?"
Ouyang Tong is the Minister of Weiwei Temple, in charge of the palace's military equipment and armor, and is in charge of the palace's arsenal, weapons, and palace guards.
He is a trusted minister of the emperor, and he can also be regarded as half a military official.
"I don't know." Ouyang Tong looked at Li Xuan with a wry smile and said: "In this Western Expedition, who will lead the troops, who will be the generals, when will they set off, what will be the route, and what will be the tactics? Only the Minister of War, Pei Xingjian, and the DPRK Several prime ministers, Your Majesty, the Queen of Heaven and the Prince know each other, but no one else knows about it. My uncle only heard one sentence, anyone could lead the army, including you, including me."
Li Xuan suddenly became solemn and asked in a low voice: "In this western expedition, shouldn't Duke Pei of the Ministry of War be the commander?"
"I don't know." Ouyang Tong shook his head and said softly: "Pingyang County Duke is very anxious to fight for this battle."
Pingyang County Duke Xue Rengui.
Li Xuan immediately shook his head and said: "Your Majesty cannot possibly regard Duke Pingyang as your commander-in-chief, but the only person in the court who can rival Duke Pingyang is Wenxi County Duke."
There are many famous generals in the Tang Dynasty, including Pei Xingjian, Xue Rengui, Duan Baoxuan, Li Xiaoyi, Li Jinxing, Lou Shide, Cheng Wuting, Hei Te Changzhi, Qibi Heli, Gao Kan, Cheng Chubi, but the one who can really be a commander is probably Pei Xingjian.
Xue Rengui had already been defeated once on the Tubo battlefield. Although there is a saying in the world that people will be brave after knowing their shame, but who would easily entrust the lives of hundreds of thousands of soldiers to the hands of a man who has been defeated before.
Even if this person is Xue Rengui.
"Your Majesty must have considered this matter." Ouyang Tong smiled easily. The pressure of this matter was on the emperor, who could always make a decision that was acceptable to all parties in the end.
After a slight pause, Ouyang Tong said: "By the way, there is also the matter of Pei Yan and Li Jingye."
Li Xuan nodded and said solemnly: "Uncle, what happened today, my nephew always feels that His Majesty means to criticize the British Duke harshly?"
Ouyang Tong frowned and couldn't help but ask: "Where did you see it?"
"The suspicion between my nephew and Mr. Pei of the Ministry of Punishment has been known for several months. It was fine that the two of us were against each other, but the British Mr. was obviously implicated, and he was suddenly pulled out, and he and I were looking at each other. It seems that His Majesty deliberately used the two of us to target the British Duke. Does he suspect that the British Duke is related to the King of East China Sea?"
As Li Xuan spoke, she spoke out the words in her mind.
"What nonsense are you talking about? How could the British Duke be related to the King of Donghai?" Ouyang Tong rolled his eyes at Li Xuan angrily, and then said cautiously: "Back then, the British Duke followed Li Mi to the Tang Dynasty, and he was always under the late emperor's command, conquering Dou Jiande, Song Dynasty King Kong, Wang Shichong, Liu Heita, Fu Gongyou, not to mention that he has always been in the army, all of them are close confidants of the late emperor. Moreover, with his caution, how could he participate in the seizure of the legitimate son? The most important thing is to hide The prince has no kindness towards him."
After Ouyang Tong finished his last sentence, Li Xuan nodded subconsciously.
This is true. Li Jiancheng had no kindness to Li Ji. On the contrary, Li Shimin was his old boss.
"But Li Jingye is not his ancestor, and the King of Donghai is not the hidden prince. Frustrated people always have something in common." In one sentence, Li Xuan described the famous Meizhou governor and heiress Ying Gong as a frustrated person.
Ouyang Tong's face was calm and he didn't refute.
(End of chapter)
