The rumbling drum woke Li Longji from his sleep, and before he could move, a greasy white and smooth arm hugged him, and made a sweet and glutinous voice in his black hair like a waterfall, "Is San Lang going so early?" It's not dawn yet!

"I also want to sleep a little longer, but the rules of the ancestors are strict!"

"Your Majesty, the hour has come."

"Got it!" Li Longji waved his hand, reluctantly left the quilt, and before getting out of bed, he couldn't help but kiss Yang Yuhuan's delicate face, and then opened the curtain and came out.

At this time, the sky is not yet bright, the west mountain holds the moon that is about to sink, the white moonlight turns dark red, the sky looks gloomy and gray, before the dawn when the light completely defeats the darkness, there is always a dark moment, but the square in front of the Danfeng Gate is lit with candles, and thousands of officials above the fifth grade are stretching the dragon tail road, and slowly enter the hall under the gaze of the tall and mighty Yulin army.

Day after day, the Tang Empire has spent a hundred years of prosperity, and is hesitating at the highest point, recalling the past and looking into the future, but it has been slow to set the pace in front of it.

The main hall was empty, solemn, with cold lips, staring at the big pillar in front of them to think about what they were going to say today, their subordinates stood behind them, ready for consultation, and Li Longji was high up, looking down on the ministers.

"The emperor has a will, and today there is a book."

The eunuch on duty stood on the top of the platform, facing the main hall and said loudly, the voice was empty and far away, echoing in the main hall.

This is the imperial technique of the emperor since ancient times, the emperor sits on a very high place, the surrounding environment is dim, so that the ministers look up and cannot see the faces of the people sitting clearly, but the emperor can see the minister's every move and even a look, so that the ministers feel the suppression, fear and majesty of the imperial power.

"Erchen has a book to play."

Tai Li Heng got up, maybe it was because he couldn't sleep last night, his pale face was a little haggard, he took out a fold from his sleeve and gently rested on the gold plate of the eunuch on duty.

"The minister wants to recommend Wei Jian, the secretary of the Criminal Department, as the envoy to Nanzhao"

Straight to the point, without any mud and water to show his own position, maybe this is to seize the lead, the first strike, Wei Jian is shrewd and capable, is the backbone of the party, his sister is the concubine, he is Li Heng's uncle.

Sure enough, there was silence in the court, and the secretary of the Ministry of Rites was too prepared in advance, ready to persuade the emperor to approve, but he was old and frail, and the long dragon tail road had crawled to his legs and muscles, and he just stood up tremblingly, but was rushed out by Yang Shenjin, the servant of the Ministry of Officials, who was in his prime, "Your Majesty, the minister has objections!" ”

Yang Shenjin is the grandson of Emperor Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty, it stands to reason that Li and Yang are not the same as the two families, even if Yang Shenjin is not a slave, there is no future, but the Tang Dynasty is open-minded and accommodates hundreds of rivers, so Yang Shenjin can also do the post of Shangshu, Yang Shenjin is about forty years old, with long hands and feet, slender and handsome, is the type of elegant and pragmatic and capable type, he is Li Linfu's henchman, but also his pioneer.

"What's the objection, let's talk about it!"

Li Longji's face was expressionless, his tone was stiff, obviously dissatisfied with Yang Shenjin's disrespect for the old ministers, but it made all the Tai Party people happy, Yang Shenjin was about to touch the nail, and even Tai Li Heng's face was stretched, secretly glad that he started early, so that Li Linfu's minions lost their square inches.

"The minister thinks that no matter who is the envoy, the key is to be highly respected and qualified, he is on behalf of the emperor, on behalf of our Tang Dynasty, if the words are inappropriate or the behavior is rude, it will make our Tang Dynasty humiliated, His Royal Highness recommended Wei Shangshu is indeed shrewd and capable, young and promising, it is feasible to send Nanzhao as a deputy envoy, but to be a regular envoy, the minister feels that it seems inappropriate."

Even the dignified secretary of the criminal department is called 'young and promising, not qualified enough', and there are only three people who are higher than him and have high morality, one is Xi Yu, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, the second is Chen Xilie, the left minister, and the third is Li Linfu, the right minister, Li Linfu is busy with affairs, and it is impossible to go out, and Xi Yu is really powerless in other aspects except for the concubine, so everyone understands that the candidate put forward by Li Linfu can only be Chen Xilie, the left minister.

Li Longji still didn't say anything, and looked at Li Heng again, "What do you think Yang Shilang said?" ”

"Your Majesty, the old minister has something to say!"

Xi Yu seemed to be an alarm clock that was half a beat slower, and when people got up, it rang, and Li Longji was already asking too much, so he entered the state just now, and wanted to speak for Wei Jian again.

He glared at Yang Shenjin angrily, and walked out of the court with difficulty, his legs were still trembling, no wonder, the dragon tail road is about fifty steps, long and steep, enough to make ordinary old people afraid, not to mention that this year is eight out of ten, but the energy is eighty Xi Yu.

His old man couldn't even bear to look at Li Longji anymore, so he made a look, and two eunuchs had already stepped forward to support him left and right.

"No, you don't! No! "Handed over," he said, "Old."

The minister can still be loyal to the emperor for another ten years, how can he talk about old age. ”

"Xi Shangshu, if you have anything to say, just say it!" Angry, sat down again.

"The old minister thinks that Nanzhao is a partial state, and there is really no need to make such a big move, that Pi Luo Ge is just a county king, and he sent only his own time, not the crown prince, so it is more than enough for Shangshu to return the gift, or promote him, according to the old minister's meaning, a royal history is enough!"

He is the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, considering the face of the Celestial Empire, it is enough in terms of etiquette, but the strategic significance of Nanzhao, the importance of this envoy is not something he can take into account, Li Heng uses him, only considers his high morality, and can play the role of heavy punches when recommending Wei Jian, but because he is slow to act, he missed the time, at this time the situation on the field has changed, it should be a light combination box, but he ran out and used heavy punches, of course, the punches failed, and even flashed his waist.

Sure enough, Li Longji listened to him naively, his face gradually sank, and he didn't even give Tai Li Heng a chance to speak, and asked Li Linfu directly: "May I ask Li Xiangguo what good advice he has?" ”

Li Linfu has been watching coldly, without saying a word, seeing that the Taidang people were proud because of the emperor's dissatisfaction with Yang Shenjin, his eyes showed a slight sneer, and the emperor was about to announce the promotion of Li Lin to Zongzheng Temple, but the poor Tai This group of old and weak soldiers still knows nothing, and they think they have the upper hand, last night the emperor ordered the Ministry of Officials to send an official examination list, and read it all night, it can be seen that the emperor does not want to talk about Nanzhao at all today, but wants to arrange personnel, these people do not know the emperor's thoughts, and they think they are proud, which is really ridiculous.

In his opinion, Li Heng is like an old tree that is about to die, although the trunk is thick, but unfortunately the branches are too weak, and the more powerful ones such as Wang Zhonghei, Zhang Qiu and Qiong are all local officials, but there is really no satisfactory subordinate in the court, only Wei Jian is barely a talent, but he is still a relative, somehow, Li Linfu suddenly thought of Li Qing, although this person is young, but after two or three years of training, he will really become Li Heng's right-hand man.

"No, you have to get rid of him, you can't let him be used by Li Heng!"

Originally, he still had the heart to entrap Li Qing, but in this short period of time, Li Linfu found that Li Heng's right-hand man was too lacking, and he would rather lose Li Qing's talent than let him be used too much.

Suddenly, hearing the emperor ask him, Li Linfu got up and went out of class and said: "There is no opinion on who to let the old minister go, the key is that he must accurately and decently convey the emperor's meaning to Pi Luo Ge, but since everyone has a disagreement, you might as well think about it again, and give the emperor a time to think about it, Your Royal Highness, what do you think the old minister said?" ”

He nodded to Tai slightly, with an amiable smile on his face, as if he was giving in, but in fact, his delay would drag Li Heng into a situation from which he could never recover.

Li Heng still didn't know about Li Lin, so he couldn't see through Li Linfu's sinister intentions, and after a while, he saw that the situation in the court did not achieve the expected effect, so he also nodded and said: "Father, Xiangguo is reasonable, anyway, Yu Chengjie will not go back until a few days later, you might as well think about it again." ”

"It's okay, let's talk about this later."

Li Longji glanced at Li Linfu approvingly, he really didn't want to talk about Nanzhao today, what he wanted to do was to continue to elevate Li Heng's power, let him obediently be a white body under his wing, and wait for himself to take over the Tang Dynasty after he was long-lived.

The two personnel appointments he wants to issue today, one is to appoint Li Lin as the secretary of Zongzheng Temple, which is a plan to draw salaries from the bottom of the kettle, cutting off Li Heng's additional financial resources; And the other is the history of Yizhou Thorn, which is also to contain Tai's local strength.

Without waiting for Li Longji to speak, Li Che, the current king of Puyang, the secretary of Zongzheng Temple, came out of the class and said: "Your Majesty, the old minister is nearly seventy years old, and he wants to 'beg for bones' to go home to retire, and I hope Your Majesty will give you permission." ”

The beggar bones are the humble words of the officials asking for retirement, Li Che has already gone through the retirement procedures in Shangshu Province, but because he is a third-grade official, he needs to get the emperor's permission to officially retire, but this is just a formality, he will not retire, as early as half a year ago, so there is no suspense about the retirement of Puyang King Li Che, but who will replace him has aroused the interest of countless people, and everyone's eyes are looking at Li Xuan, the heir of Xue Wang, he is the Shaoqing of Zongzheng Temple, the head of the Taimiao Cemetery, and he is too confidant, it is really logical for him to take over, But Li Heng's eyes were gloomy, and he forced out a smile, he had already heard the wind from the palace, and Li Xuan, the heir of King Xue, was appointed as the secretary of Zongzheng Temple, I am afraid that there will be changes.

Li Longji smiled slightly, "Xuanji Ning Wang Li Lin"

"Xuan Si Ning Wang Li Lin enters the palace!"

The shouting voice was high-pitched and loud, echoing in Danfengmen Square, the atmosphere in the court was obviously uneasy, Li Heng's smile also disappeared, and his eyes flickered.

Soon Li Lin entered the hall, "Weichen Li Lin knocks to see His Majesty the Emperor!" Long live Your Majesty, long live, long live! ”

"King Si Ning is exempt!" I've been thinking about your arrangement.

Although the appointment of Li Lin as Zongzheng Siqing caused a buzz, after all, they were all Tai Dang, except for the face of Li Xuan, the heir of King Xue, who turned into a pig's liver color, nothing else

But Li Heng's gaze was extremely cold, he stared at Li Lin tightly, this person came casually, he must have known it a long time ago, but he didn't report to himself, what kind of heart was this, but before his resentment disappeared, Li Longji's other appointment made the last trace of blood on his face disappear without a trace, and appointed Guo Xuji, the head of the household department, as the assassin of Yizhou, and the deputy envoy of Jiannan Jiedu.

At this moment, Li Heng suddenly understood Li Linfu's intentions and his father's thoughts, they actually colluded together today to play their own tricks, so that the position of Nanzhao Zheng was blown, and the Jiannan region where he had just gained the upper hand was immediately broken through again.

Li Heng seemed to have stepped on the air, and his stomach began to tighten for a while, and the pain became intense.

There was silence in the entire court, only Guo Xuji's thanksgiving kowtow was heard, and the Taidang people looked at each other, all of them looked depressed, and the sudden change caught them off guard, and they couldn't think of a single countermeasure.

At this time, Li Linfu came out of the class with a smile and said: "Your Majesty, Guo Shilang's appointment as the deputy envoy of Yizhou Assassin Shi and Jiannan Jiedu can be said to be expected, but the post of Yizhou Sima is still vacant, and one person can be appointed to this position." ”

"Xiangguo, but it doesn't hurt to say it." This is an extraneous matter, Li Longji was puzzled, and he didn't know what Li Linfu had in mind.

Li Linfu looked at Tai Li Heng, and his smile became more and more sincere, "Taishe Li Qing is capable and promising, and he is quite famous when he is the master book in Yibin County, and the minister has talked to him, and feels that he has a clear mind and is a rare material, if he is placed in the East Palace, it is a pity, so the minister Bao promoted him as Sima of Yizhou, and let him go to the local area to have a good experience for a few years." ”

Yizhou Sima is from the bottom of the fifth grade, one level higher than the Taishe people, it seems that Li Linfu cares about the juniors, but his real sinister intentions have made the faces of several people in the hall change greatly, first of all, Tai Li Heng, Li Qing is the person he has high hopes for, is his reserve talent, but Li Linfu actually said that they talked, when was it? Why didn't Li Qing report to himself, the East Palace was idle, and whose meaning was this? Is it Li Linfu or Li Qing's own thoughts, countless thoughts are flying in his mind, he is originally a suspicious person, and at this time, Li Lin, who is good friends with Li Qing, has already concealed him first, it is very likely that Li Qing and Li Lin betrayed him at the same time, Li Heng was silent, and his cold eyes flashed a touch of murder.

This is Li Linfu's cleverness in killing people with a knife, skillfully blending the matter of Li Qing and Li Lin together, giving people the illusion that this is the same thing, if Li Heng investigates afterwards, the two of them were indeed with him last night, Li Qing can't tell even if he has ten mouths, not to mention that he has not been in the East Palace for a long time, Li Heng still doesn't really trust him, Li Lin is the king of the county, Li Heng may not dare to move, but Li Qing has no background, and he is notorious for betrayal, how can Li Heng spare him.

The second person whose face changed greatly was Li Lin, although he was a little sluggish, but he was the party concerned, and he also understood that Li Qing's disaster was coming, he secretly glanced at Li Heng, and saw that he had no expression on his face, his eyes were cold, and his heart was secretly anxious for Li Qing, but he couldn't speak.

The third person who understands this is Li Longji, at that time, he left Li Qing in the East Palace on the night of Shangyuan because he didn't want to make too many doubts, and now Li Linfu's recommendation undoubtedly pushed Li Qing to the forefront, making his plan to hide Li Qing fall through, Li Longji was annoyed, but his face was not exposed at all, and he only played with the green jade paperweight on the dragon case.

At this moment, a person flashed out of the court and said loudly: "Your Majesty, the minister opposes Li Xiangguo's recommendation. ”

Everyone's eyes looked at this person, only to see that he had a thin face and an elegant temperament, and the person who spoke out against it was Cui Qiao, the secretary of Dali Temple, who was neither a person from the Ministry nor Li Qing's boss, and had nothing to do with this matter, if the relationship between the two must be investigated, that is, his daughter is said to be quite close to Li Qing, and the two have the possibility of being a son-in-law, but this is a private matter, how can it be said in the court, and he doesn't know the consequences of opposing Li Linfu? Seeing him prominently protruding, several important ministers of the Cui family cast dissatisfied glances at him, offending Li Linfu, and they would be implicated.

Cui Qiao impulsively went out to oppose it, and now he has reacted, he is doing a big stupid thing, but now he can't retreat, the emperor looks at him, looks at him too much, Li Linfu looks at him, the whole dynasty is looking at him, the sweat has soaked his underwear, as a last resort, Cui Qiao had to grit his teeth and say: "The minister thinks that although Li Qing, who is too sheren, is as Xiangguo said, he has been promoted from the master book to the pinsheren, and he is already the emperor's grace, he has been a Taishe person for less than a month, and he has not made any achievements, if he is promoted again, I'm afraid that it will make other officials suspicious, which will make Xiangguo's good intentions ineffective, so the minister thinks that it is better to wait a few more years, and he will be promoted after a little achievement, wouldn't it be more secure! ”

Li Linfu stared back at him, the smile on his face was undiminished, but his gaze was obviously not good, and he was about to refute, but at this moment, Li Longji spoke, "What Cui Aiqing said is extremely true, Li Qing, who is too she, is still young, and I also think that he is not enough to be the Yizhou Sima, Li Xiangguo, stop this matter!" ”

He turned his head to look at Li Heng, and said with a slight smile: "It's just that I like this person very much, and the emperor should give him a little more chance to practice." ”