Different from ordinary banquets, the royal banquet hosted by the emperor himself was not allowed to change glasses or move around. However, the emperor was in a good mood at this time, chatting and laughing with everyone during the banquet, and the atmosphere of the banquet was harmonious and relaxed.
Not only was the emperor in a good mood, but everyone present was also in a good mood at this time. Changsheng was in a good mood not only because the emperor decreed himself a loyal king, but also for several other important reasons. First, the emperor severely punished those civil servants who spoke ill of him behind his back. , different from a small-scale punishment and admonishment, which was taken to be executed outside Mingde’s gate in public, leaving no face for those civil servants and officials. The emperor’s move was equivalent to telling the world that he had absolute trust in him, and all doubts and doubts about him were eliminated. Slander is not allowed.
However, everything has its pros and cons. Even the most noble emperor will have to pay a heavy price for making such a decision. The emperor's move is equivalent to making a choice between him and the civil servants and officials. The one who was sacrificed, the civil servants and officials, would inevitably feel depressed and disheartened, and might even become alienated from the emperor.
The second reason why Chang Sheng was in a good mood was that there was a tacit understanding between the emperor and his ministers. The emperor granted him the title of Minister of the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of War. He immediately understood the emperor's intention and took the initiative to hand over the power of the Ministry of Husbandry and the Ministry of Justice. Although the emperor accepted his suggestion, However, he did not follow the trend and take the opportunity to weaken his power. Instead, he awarded Ru Zhen a gold medal in person as compensation and reward for his understanding of righteousness and his initiative to avoid suspicion.
The good mood of Datou and others is not because the emperor promoted them from the third rank to the second rank. They don't care about this at all. What they care about is the emperor's attitude towards Changsheng. No one knows better than the four of them how loyal Changsheng is to the emperor. , and no one knows better than them how much hardship and effort Changsheng has put in for the Tang Dynasty. The emperor's severe punishment of the civil servants and officials who slandered Changsheng shows that the emperor still knows what he has done for the Tang Dynasty. See it in your eyes.
Then there is the gold medal that I am personally present. This thing is much heavier than the ministers of the Ministry of Husbandry and the Ministry of Justice. Holding the gold medal in your hand is equivalent to ruling the world. Not only can you control the six ministries, praise and criticize hundreds of officials, but you can also kill first and then report, and mobilize the soldiers of the world. horse. Like Chang Sheng, what they value is not the huge power contained in the gold medal, but the emperor's absolute trust in Chang Sheng.
The civil servants and military generals present at the table were also in a good mood. The general was in a good mood because Chang Sheng and others were all from martial arts backgrounds. Civil servants and military generals in the past dynasties all belonged to two different camps. It cannot be said that they are in the same position, but they are also friendly. If the hearts are not at peace, Chang Sheng and others gain power, which is equivalent to the military commander's camp gaining power.
As for the civil servants who were present at the table, they were in a good mood, because if the civil servants and officials who were previously tied outside the city and prepared to be beheaded were really beheaded, many positions would be freed up, and some of them might take over. In addition, they are often jealous of those colleagues who secretly impeached Chang Sheng. They believe that these people have stolen their limelight and cannot avoid gloating when they see the other party's misfortune.
Governing the country is inseparable from civil servants, but civil servants are like jealous women. Most of them are civil servants who scheming and forming cliques for personal gain. Naturally, the emperor also knows this. The reason why he did not suppress civil servants before was because the civil servants did not have soldiers. Even if they Hidden selfish motives will not cause too much trouble. On the contrary, once the generals leading the troops are disobedient, they may plot to usurp the throne.
This banquet was held to celebrate Chang Sheng and others. Chang Sheng and others were naturally the protagonists today. In addition to the praise and praise from the emperor, there were also congratulations and compliments from civil and military officials. In front of Chang Sheng and others, the officials Naturally, I don’t dare to be smart and try to alienate or flatter someone. Most of my words are fair and to the point, without any malicious exaggeration.
Although they couldn't move around at will, they could pay respect from a distance. Changsheng and others frequently raised their glasses to accept the congratulations from the emperor and civil and military officials.
Changsheng did not hide his joy and relief. In fact, he was worried at this time, but he knew that he could not show it. If he was silent and unsmiling at this time, the emperor and the officials present might mistakenly think that he was very scheming and was doing something wrong. Thinking and planning important things is extremely detrimental to yourself.
A common problem in the world is that you are too superstitious about being upright and are not afraid of slanting shadows. You are not afraid of ghosts knocking on your door if you have done nothing wrong. This idea is actually extremely wrong. You should not put all the responsibility of distinguishing right from wrong and distinguishing true from false on the other party. If you believe you have a clear conscience and are open-minded, you will act arbitrarily without avoiding suspicion. Once the other party misunderstands you, you will cry and complain that the other party does not believe in you. In fact, many times when you are misunderstood by the other party, you cannot blame the other party for being suspicious. Instead, you should deeply reflect on whether you did something that was not good enough that caused the other party to misunderstand.
After three rounds of drinking, someone finally used the wine to pretend to be crazy and pierced the last layer of window paper. This time it was a military general who stood up to start the fight. He first complimented the emperor on knowing people well, being wise and martial, and then praised Chang Sheng and others for their courage and loyalty to the emperor. Serving the country, he later praised Zhang Shan for his skillful command of the troops and the pacification of Luoyang. Furthermore, Luoyang city had high walls and was easy to defend but difficult to attack.
Before the general could finish speaking, the emperor waved his hand and interrupted him, "General Gao, please don't discuss this matter again. Sit down."
Although the general had not finished what he said, Changsheng knew that the other party wanted to persuade the emperor to move the capital to Luoyang. He had been thinking about it before, and it was precisely this matter that he was thinking about.
Now that the emperor had spoken, the general did not continue, but bowed in response and sat down on his knees.
Deep down in his heart, Changsheng did not agree with the emperor moving the capital. The correct thing to do at this time was not to answer the other party's words and let the matter go. However, after thinking anxiously, Changsheng tilted his head and asked General Gao, who was sitting under him, why. Mention Luoyang.
The reason why Chang Sheng knew the truth and asked was not an extraneous matter, but because he knew that even if General Gao did not have the emperor's permission, he had guessed the emperor's thoughts and went along with it. General Gao had drunk a lot of wine before, and now his face was red. This kind of Under the circumstances, General Gao's previous words were precise and concise, which is unreasonable unless he has rehearsed them in his mind many times beforehand.
General Gao was a little surprised to see Changsheng actually answering, but he came to his senses immediately, stood up again, compared Luoyang and Chang'an in terms of city defense and geography, and stated the pros and cons.
Seeing General Gao talking incessantly, and reciting his family treasures, the civil servants and generals present added words from time to time, but the emperor never spoke. Changsheng knew that he had guessed right. The emperor did want to move the capital to Luoyang, but he was not sure about his attitude. In addition, the emperor had previously visited the east, It is very likely that Zhang Shan mentioned this matter, and Zhang Shan's attitude was undoubtedly firmly against it.
While General Gao and others were talking about their opinions, Changsheng had already begun to think about how to express his position. Although Zhang Shan had captured Luoyang, Zhu Quanzhong was entrenched in Zhengzhou and the main force was still there. It was naturally not wise to move the capital to Luoyang at this time. Not to mention that the current national strength is not strong, and moving the capital is a waste of people and money, which is nothing more than adding insult to injury to the Tang Dynasty.
But now the emperor has determined that Luoyang has a dragon spirit. If he stops it just because he has a clear conscience, it will undoubtedly arouse the emperor's suspicion. The emperor may not care about other things, but when it comes to the throne, it is difficult for the emperor not to think too much.
After careful consideration, Chang Sheng finally decided to choose the lesser of the two evils. He was not a public official seeking fame and reputation, and he could not go against the emperor just to leave a reputation as a critic in the history of history. The most important thing is that once he goes against the emperor, The emperor may alienate himself. Even if the emperor suffers the consequences in the end and the Tang Dynasty is destroyed, he cannot rejoice in his misfortune and sit back and mock the emperor to his own peril. This is the behavior of a villain and not a loyal minister.
After making up his mind, Changsheng began to recall the details. He had been traveling around for a while and had no contact with Zhang Shan and Zhang Mo. The emperor must have also known that he had not had contact with Zhang Shan during this period. Since he decided to follow the emperor, We must make things reasonable and do not let the emperor feel that he knew about the matter in advance, nor let the emperor feel dissatisfied with Zhang Shan.
After everyone finished speaking, Changsheng decided to retreat instead of advance. Compared with Chang'an, Luoyang was indeed better, and now that the food supply had been provided, the court could squeeze out money and food to build a palace in Luoyang. However, Zhu Quanzhong's main force was still there, and he moved the capital to Luoyang. The emperor's safety is difficult to guarantee.
Changsheng knew that Zhang Shan had probably said what he said, but Zhang Shan might be more serious than what he said. He knew his uncle, and he didn't scold the emperor in front of him for being extravagant and prodigal, and he went to seek death even if he gave it to the emperor. Save face.
Seeing that Changsheng did not agree to move the capital, everyone began to wonder if he had a bad relationship with Zhang Shan. However, the tone and demeanor of his words did not seem like he had discussed it with Zhang Shan. When they thought about it carefully, the facts were just as Changsheng said, Luoyang was indeed very dangerous. He and Zhang Shan's disagreement with the move may have been due to the emperor's safety.
In order to convince Chang Sheng, everyone talked about Luoyang's advantages. Everyone might say that it was indeed true, but Chang Sheng just kept shaking his head. He had to wait until everyone mentioned that Luoyang was filled with dragon energy before he let up.
Seeing Changsheng just shaking his head, someone finally mentioned that Luoyang was filled with dragon energy. Changsheng pretended to be shocked when he heard this, "Seriously?"
After receiving a positive reply, Changsheng immediately expressed his position, "The most important thing is the country, the country, and the country. If Luoyang really gives birth to dragon energy, it is imperative to move the capital."
Everyone was relieved when they heard this, and the emperor's face, which had been pretending to be calm, finally showed a smile.
"It's just that Zhu Quanzhong is still in Zhengzhou, and Zhenren Zhang is leading the tired army..."
Before the other party could finish speaking, Changsheng waved his hand and interrupted him, "It is indeed inappropriate for Master Zhang to continue leading troops into battle. At present, the talismans have been scattered everywhere. One of the golden talismans fell into Zhu Quanzhong's camp. As the commander of the army, Master Zhang , it is very likely to be attacked and plotted by the enemy."
"In your opinion?" The emperor answered.
Changsheng replied sternly, "Zhenzhen Zhang previously joined forces with the Taoists from Longhu Mountain to attack Luoyang, which has greatly damaged Yangshou. Now that he has no spiritual talisman to protect him, he can no longer serve the country even if he is determined to do so. Why don't I replace Zhenren Zhang?" Lead the troops to fight against the rebellion and pacify Zhengzhou..."
