At the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, although the Shangshu of the Ministry of Officials was only the third product and the left and right servants of Shangshu Province, the actual authority was still very heavy.

Li Shimin himself also attached great importance to the rule of officials, and during Li Shimin's time, the eldest grandson Wuji, Hou Junji, Yang Shidao, and Ma Zhou successively inspected the school officials and ministers as prime ministers or participated in political affairs as the officials and ministers.

Now the eldest grandson Wuji is exiled in Qiongzhou, Hou Jun is gathered in the prison, Yang Shidao is still the Zhongshu Order, and this official secretary is naturally let Ma Zhou do it in Li Chengqian's opinion.

The first thing he has to do in the future is to rectify the rule of officials, and it will not work without a strong and capable official secretary.

At this time, Wei Renzhao was not the only one in the side hall who wanted to speak, but because he couldn't figure out Li Chengqian's thoughts for a while, no one dared to speak out easily, and they were thinking about who to recommend.

Li Chengqian saw that everyone didn't speak, and was about to directly designate Ma Zhou, but when he saw Gao Shilian slowly walk out and bow down, he said: "His Royal Highness the Prince, the secretary of the ministry is the head of the six departments, and those who are not prestige cannot serve as supremes." ”

Gao Shilian is reminding Li Chengqian not to take risks and use a newcomer who has no prestige.

Of course, this is because Li Chengqian does not have the prestige of Li Shimin, if Li Shimin wants to use someone below who does not dare to object, he can only do more or less in that position.

If Li Chengqian had been casually employed in an important post, Kenning would have rebounded.

Li Chengqian nodded when he heard this, and said lightly: "Ma Zhoujiu, the waiter of the Chinese book, has been successful in the middle book, and he can check the school officials' books. ”

Gao Shilian hadn't returned yet, and he couldn't help but be stunned when he heard what Li Chengqian said, it was obvious that he had already calculated it a long time ago, and he also thought that Ma Zhou was a good candidate, so he silently retreated, not ready to speak anymore.

When Ma Zhou heard this, he hurriedly walked out and excused himself: "The ministers are afraid, and the ministers are not talented, and I am afraid that it will be difficult to compete." As he spoke, he touched the ground and never looked up.

Li Chengqian thought that Ma Zhou was casually shirking, and said with a faint smile on his face: "Ma Qing's family doesn't have to be too modest, you are a natural prime minister." You have seen it to your father and the emperor, and in the eyes of the lonely king, it is difficult to find a minister like you in the Tang Dynasty today, even if you count forward, only the prince of Changsha at the time of Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty can be compared. ”

"Ahh

……

The ministers couldn't help but gasp, Jia Yi was the one who wrote "On the Passage of Qin", from Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty to Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty, the most wise monarchs of the Western Han Dynasty were all practicing the "Public Security Policy" (also known as "Chen Zheng Shi Shu"), that is, Jia Yi was the formulator of the programmatic documents that had been strong for decades.

Even Ma Zhou is not calm, although he is conceited and talented, he doesn't dare to compare with Jia Yi, and the better Li Chengqian praises him, the more he is worried that Li Chengqian will make big moves in the future.

Thinking of this, Ma Zhou simply lifted his robe and knelt down.

"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is ashamed of his false praise."

"Huh?"

Li Chengqian and the ministers in the palace all saw that Ma Zhou really didn't want to be the secretary of the ministry.

Seeing this, Li Chengqian couldn't help but sink his face, looked at Ma Zhoudao, and said: "Ma Qing's family originally wrote to his father and emperor with cloth clothes, and he was reused by his father.

Now that your father is sick, you won't be willing to contribute to the governance of the lonely king?"

Ma Zhou froze when he heard this, and said with a look of panic: "Ministers, ministers don't dare." ”

Li Chengqian saw Ma Zhoufu soft, and said with a faint smile on his face: "Then you still don't accept the order?"

"Obey the order!"

Li Chengqian looked at Wei Renzhao, the servant of the Ministry of Officials, and couldn't help but be curious: "Speaking of the left concubine of the East Palace, King Gu remembers that there is also a servant of the Ministry and the right concubine of the East Palace, why don't you see it today?"

The ministers understood that Li Chengqian was talking about Su Xun, which was deliberately making Wei Renzhao ugly.

Cheng Mingzhen and Shang Shucheng stood up and said: "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince Su Shilang contracted the disease in February, and he has not had a director for several months. ”

Li Chengqian nodded and said he understood.

At this time, the three most important things were completed, and he said to the ministers: "It's late tonight, so you will stay in the palace for a night." ”

"The ministers obey."

The ministers also knew that Li Shimin was seriously ill, and it was indeed inconvenient to open the palace door at night, so no one raised any objections.

"Arrange a place for your family to rest." Li Chengqian got up and walked out as he spoke.

Li Chengqian had nowhere else to go in the Taiji Palace, so he returned to the Ganlu Palace, and on the way back, he ordered someone to recruit Qiu Xinggong and Li Anyan into the palace.

Li Chengqian returned to the Ganlu Hall and saw Li Kezheng and Zhang Shigui kneeling in the front hall.

When Li Ke and Zhang Shigui saw Li Chengqian walking in, they all got up and saluted Li Chengqian: "See His Royal Highness the Prince!" ”

Li Chengqian nodded tiredly and found a brocade dun to sit down, frowned and asked Li Ke, "Why doesn't the third child take care of his father inside?"

Li Ke hurriedly said, "It was my father who took the medicine to sleep, so he ordered me to come out, and Xu Jieyu took care of it." ”

Li Chengqian turned back to the old ghost and said, "Old ghost, you go in and take care of the lonely king." ”

When the old ghost heard this, he quietly walked into Li Shimin's bedroom.

Li Ke and Zhang Shigui guessed that Li Chengqian was guarding against Xu Jieyu, so they looked at each other and did not speak.

Li Chengqian looked at Zhang Shigui again and asked, "Have you seen your father?"

Zhang Shigui hurriedly bowed and said: "Your Majesty has issued a decree, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is in charge of the country, and the ministers are ordered to meet His Royal Highness the Crown Prince here." ”

Li Chengqian nodded when he heard this: "You all sit down!" ”

The two sat down again when they heard this, and Li Ke saw that Li Chengqian looked tired and said: "Here is watched by the younger brother, and the eldest brother will go to the side hall to rest for a while." ”

Li Chengqian smiled indifferently when he heard this, waved his hand weakly and said, "I haven't eaten yet, and let them prepare some soup to eat before resting." ”

When Li Ke heard this, he hurriedly got up and ordered someone to prepare a meal, Li Chengqian saw it and smiled: "Come and move the reclining chair inside, King Gu is here tonight to guard Your Majesty." The chamberlain next to him was ordered to go inside and move the chaise long.

Li Chengqian's side ordered to take care of Li Xiang's brother Liu Kui in the side hall when he heard it, and when he saw that the old ghost was not by Li Chengqian's side, he came over to serve.

When Li Chengqian saw Liu Kui, he asked the Li Xiang brothers a few words, knowing that they had already slept in the side hall, so he ordered Liu Kui to see if Princess Jinyang and Li Zhi were sleeping.

Li Ke and Zhang Shigui saw that Li Chengqian was thinking so thoughtfully, and they both felt that Li Chengqian was very benevolent.

Of course, Li Chengqian will not say that he wants to see if Li Zhi is honest or not.

For a while, the waiter prepared snacks and drinks for them, and Li Chengqian ordered someone to put a few small dishes in the hall together and put all the wine and food on them.

He sat on the felt mat on the ground without any image, and let Li Ke and Zhang Shigui sit down and eat together.

Not long after, Qiu Xinggong and Li Anyan also arrived, and Li Chengqian ordered both of them to sit down and eat together.

Qiu Xinggong and Li Anyan are both people who are not good at words, both of them used to be second- and third-tier generals under Li Shimin, and they could only watch others have a banquet with Li Shimin in the past.

Today, they were excited to drink and feast at the same table with Li Chengqian, as the so-called soldier died as a confidant, and both of them secretly swore in their hearts that they would fight hard to ensure that Li Chengqian sat on the dragon chair.

After the wine and dinner were finished, Li Chengqian staggered up, grabbed Zhang Shigui with one hand and Qiu Xinggong with the other, and said solemnly: "One of the two Qing families guards the Xuanwu Gate in the north of the palace, and the other is the Chengtian Gate in the south. ”

Hearing this, the two hurriedly withdrew their arms, stood in front of Li Chengqian, knelt down on one knee with their hands clenched into fists, and said sonorously: "The ministers have received great grace from Your Majesty and His Royal Highness the Prince, and swear to protect the safety of Your Majesty, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and the Emperor and Sun to the death. ”

Li Chengqian hurriedly helped the two of them up and said, "Hurry up, please get up!" The loyal orphan king of the two Qing families knows it. ”

When they heard this, they withdrew from the main hall and went to the place they were guarding.

Watching Zhang Shigui and Qiu Xinggong walk out, Li Chengqian turned around and looked at Li Anyan and said, "There is Lao Li Aiqing here tonight, and the lonely king has gone to sleep." ”

Seeing this, Li Anyan also bowed solemnly, and walked in front of the gate of the Ganlu Hall to guard......