There is one thing that Xue Shao knows in his heart, and Wu Zetian also knows it in his heart, that is, Pei Yan came prepared for today's court matter, and he will never give up lightly.

Now there are already Wei Xuantong, the head of the six Shangshu, and Liu Qixian, the supreme governor and prime minister of Menxia Province. If the argument continues, I don't know how many high-ranking officials Dazai will jump out and join in together, and they want to "move a nest" for Xue Shao.

At this moment, Xue Shao was thinking in his heart: Pei Yan and Wu Zetian had just cooperated to depose the old monarch Li Xian, and immediately found that the other party had become his biggest political enemy. If Pei Yan wants to solve the constraint of Empress Dowager Wu, it will definitely not be an overnight effort. Then cutting off her wings became something he desperately wanted to do now. It must not be difficult for him to find that his weakest link is that he does not have the support of the army, and Cheng Wuting, the only one who is likely to support him, also "deserted" before the coup. On the other hand, Empress Dowager Wu has the support of me, Xue Shao. In his opinion, the two of us have almost formed a new alliance and become his biggest threat to Pei Yan!

Then, getting rid of my Xue Shao first, or cutting off the military power in my hands, has become Pei Yan's top priority!

Therefore, the current controversy over the candidate for the post of "Secretary of the Ministry of War" is actually Wu Zetian and Pei Yan engaged in a battle to the death. If Pei Yan wins, then I, Xue Shao, will have to lose my military power and return to the court to be an idle person, and I will be finished. Now the newly promoted prime ministers in the political hall, as well as many important positions in the Yushitai and the six ministries of the three provinces, are Pei Yan's henchmen and henchmen. For Wu Zetian, if I don't have the power to fight, she will lose the support of the army, and she will no longer be able to compete with Pei Yan!

……

At this moment, there is no sword light and sword shadow above the court, but it is already full of murderous opportunities. More than 300 courtiers stood on top of this court, and almost none of them dared to raise their heads or pant loudly.

At the same time, all the ministers put their expectations on the Empress Dowager Wu. After all, Wei Xuantong and Liu Qixian came out to talk about things under the guise of "promoting virtue" for the imperial court, and on the surface, it seemed that it was for Xue Shao's good. At this juncture, it is not good for Xue Shao himself to take the initiative to refuse, which will also seem too ignorant.

So now it's up to the Empress Dowager Wu to deal with it!

Above the court, there was silence.

Wu Zetian pondered for a moment, and simply walked out from behind the bead curtain.

She had a faint smile on her face, and her demeanor was extremely calm. But Xue Shao and some others had already seen a trace of coldness in her eyes--murderous aura!

"Liu Xianggong is a virtuous man for the country, this is a great good." Wu Zetian walked to the center of the court hall and said, "However, it seems too absurd to let a person in his twenties serve as a scholar, right?" The secretary of the military department is in charge of the military affairs of the whole country and shoulders the responsibility of the country's peril, which is not child's play. Although Xue Shaowen became a young man, he was still young and inexperienced after all. In case he makes a mistake in dealing with the urgent affairs of the military department, who will be responsible? ”

The person was recommended by Liu Qixian, and this question naturally had to be answered by Liu Qixian. So he stood up and bowed to the court, and said: "I am waiting for the palace to be a minister, and what I think in my heart should be to do my best to be loyal to the country, how can I not do anything yet, and first think about how to shirk the matter of making mistakes?" …… This inevitably seems to be too irresponsible, right? ”

"According to your meaning, if Xue Shao is guilty of handling administrative and military affairs after serving as the secretary of the Ministry of War, it will be you, the person who recommended him, to take responsibility?" Wu Zetian caught the loophole in his words and began to fight back.

Liu Qixian's face changed slightly, "Queen Mother...... Where does this begin? ”

"There has always been such a precedent for example. If the person recommended by the minister makes a mistake, the person who recommended him will also be liable for the corresponding dereliction of duty. Wu Zetian said, "Why, Liu Xianggong has the courage to recommend Xue Shao, but he doesn't have the courage to bear the crime of dereliction of duty?" ”

"Ugh! ......" Liu Qixian was stunned, he really hadn't thought about this!

Wu Zetian smiled slightly, and there was a hint of coldness in his eyes, "The most important thing in recommending talents is to measure talents." Xue Shao is a rare military talent in a hundred years, and marching and fighting to destroy cities and villages is his greatest strength. Wouldn't it be appropriate for you to let him go to the military department to take up a civilian position? - It's like, even though the unicorn is good, but you drive him to catch mice, can he compare to a domestic cat? ”

"Hahaha-" The courtiers couldn't help but laugh.

But they were a little dumbfounded after laughing...... The Queen Mother's analogy of saying Xue Shao as a unicorn but us as a house cat catching mice will there be a little irony in it?

In the face of Wu Zetian's verbal sword, Liu Qixian was obviously a little overwhelmed, and squeaked with shame for a long time, so he had to say: "What the Queen Mother said is not unreasonable. So, let's think about it again! ”

Xue Shao has been quietly watching from the sidelines. Although Wu Zetian was victorious in front of him and pressed Liu Qixian down for a while, he knew that the real battle was still to come-Pei Yan hadn't made a move yet!

"Zhong Aiqing, do you still want to play?" Wu Zetian said this, and walked back to the bead curtain without hurrying. Like a low-key winner.

"Queen Mother, the minister has something to say."

When everyone heard this voice, their hearts sank at the same time - Pei Yan!

Wu Zetian stood up and turned around without being surprised, and smiled slightly, "Elder Pei Ge, please speak!" ”

The elder of the cabinet is the honorific title of the prime minister of the cabinet, and he is a highly respected and first-class prime minister.

Pei Yan bowed his hand and said very indifferently: "The minister thinks that there is nothing wrong with Liu Shizhong recommending Xue Shao as the secretary of the military department. The Queen Mother also said that people should be used only by measure. The minister thought that it was a bit overkill to succumb to Xue Shao's talent to the secretary of the military department. If it weren't for the fact that he was still young, the minister would have thought that he would have been prepared for the ability to enter the cabinet. When the first emperor was dying, he once asked Xue Shao to take charge of the imperial military. With the sage of the first emperor, it has undoubtedly proved that Xue Shao is enough to take on major events. Moreover, when King Luling ascended the throne as emperor, didn't he want to appoint Xue Shao as prime minister? It's just that Xue Shao was too humble at that time and politely refused. Two generations of kings unanimously agreed that Xue Shao had the talent to pass through the heavens and latitudes, why did the queen mother use age as an excuse and only believed that Xue Shao did not have the ability to serve as a scholar? If you talk about age, I think I am the Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, and I am not a weak crown and a commander who has leveled the four seas, and I am not enough to stand up and already reign in the world to create Zhenguan Dazhi? Since ancient times, heroes have come out of youth, and the court should be meritocracy, how can it fall into the trap of mundane? ”

All the ministers were shocked in their hearts - what a powerful rhetoric, they actually moved out the three generations of emperors of the Tang Dynasty! Pei Yan also gave birth to a sharp mouth that is not afraid of much concession!

Wu Zetian's face tensed, revealing a hint of anger. Obviously, Pei Yan moved out three generations of emperors to suppress her, which made her very angry. Especially the sentence "I alone believe that Xue Shao does not have the ability to serve as a scholar", it is obviously saying that she has no vision, and she is worse than the first emperor and the king of Luling!

It's okay to say that she is worse than the first emperor's vision, and that she is even worse than Li Xian's vision - where can Wu Zetian accept this?

Wu Zetian was about to speak, Xue Shao stood up and came to the court to hold the elephant wat and bowed, "Queen Mother, the minister has something to say!" ”

The whole court was shocked, and at the same time turned his head to look at it - Xue Shao personally came out to take the call!

Wu Zetian also looked at Xue Shao, and there was a lot of doubt and worry in his eyes, as if to say-Will you be Pei Yan's opponent?

Xue Shao looked at Wu Zetian with blazing eyes, and handed her a fairly affirmative look--I can do it!

"Okay, Xue Aiqing, this matter is related to you, and you should express your own opinions." Wu Zetian said, and sat back behind the bead curtain, "Say it!" ”

"Empress Dowager Xie!"

Xue Shao took a deep breath, took two steps forward, and stood closer to Wu Zetian and Pei Yan.

He looked at Pei Yan and smiled slightly.

Pei Yan looked at him lightly, expressionless.

The eyes of the two people were like swords fighting in mid-air, crashing into countless tragic sparks.

"Pei Zhongshu, you love you and praise Xue for his great talent. Xue, I don't dare to be ashamed. Xue Shao bowed to Pei Yan, looking very polite.

Pei Yan just smiled slightly, looking very tall.

Xue Shao continued: "I can bear Liu Shizhong's affordability even more, and recommend Xue as the secretary of the Ministry of War, and Xue is even more honestly afraid!" “

After that, Xue Shao bowed to Liu Qixian again.

Liu Qixian nodded in return, his expression was a little cramped.

Everyone knows that Xue Shao is "saluting first and then soldiering", but they don't know how Xue Shao will fight back next.

"As recommended by the two prime ministers, if Xue returns to the dynasty to serve as the secretary of the military department, then Xue just wants to ask - who will preside over the government affairs of Xiazhou and the military affairs of the Shuofang army?" Xue Shao asked, "Pei Zhongshu is the assistant to the son of heaven and An Limin, you should be able to answer this question, right?" ”

Since he was named, Pei Yan naturally had no choice but to answer in person: "The Tang Dynasty is full of talents, why is there a lack of a governor of Xiazhou?" ”

Xue Shao smiled, "If Pei Zhongshu can name a suitable person to take over, Xue will naturally be able to return to the dynasty with peace of mind, even if he is no longer an official, he will be at ease." ”

The ministers let out a burst of exclamation, Xue Shao's bet is a bit big!

Pei Yan was very indifferent and said: "Under the rule of the Xiazhou Governor's Mansion, it is not impossible to select officials to replace you on the spot." ”

"Who, then?" Xue Shao said with a smile, "It is a precedent for me to take over the official position in terms of seniority. My deputy as the governor is Shi Wei Xuanzhen, the governor of the Governor's Mansion. Excuse me, where is Wei Xuanzhen? ”

Pei Yan's expression changed slightly, showing a hint of anger!

It was because Li Xian, the king of Luling, wanted to promote Wei Xuanzhen, the abbot, to serve as a servant, which triggered this coup d'état to depose the emperor. Afterwards, Wei Xuanzhen was not only among the servants, but also punished for the emperor's resignation, and the whole family was demoted and exiled!

Xue Shao deliberately mentioned Wei Xuanzhen, as if to remind the Manchu Dynasty of civil and military - Pei Yan was a rebel who deceived the monarch, and he drove away the emperor and the emperor's family.

Therefore, Pei Yan can't help but be angry!