Chapter 347: Drawing Salary from the Bottom of the Cauldron
readx; Li Longji seemed to have turned into a wax figure all of a sudden, he looked at the eldest grandson who was kneeling on the ground and crying in a daze, he was speechless for a long time, the consequences of a strong foreign domain and a weak suzerain, how could he not have considered it, as an emperor who has been in power for more than 40 years, he knows too well what the consequences of doing this are, but he ignored this consequence, in his opinion, it is a big problem for the important ministers of the frontier to support the army and stand on their own, which will mean that the Li family is in danger of changing the dynasty, no matter how he wants to take back all the military power of these festival envoys in his lifetime, Giving it to his own son is the safest way, as for the consequences of his son taking over the military power, in his opinion, it is not really important, it is nothing more than a son replacing a grandson, or a son replacing another son, no matter which son ascends the throne, it is the same for him. Pen fun and pavilion www.biquge.info
But how did he say this to his grandson? He can't say that it's your imperial uncle anyway, which of you is the same as Huang Yanjing, he can't say it, he knows that the pair of emperor's eldest grandson means death, at this point, he is selfish, he thinks that the son who finally ascended the throne must be the strongest, and he should continue the Li family, whether he is his own son or grandson.
Li Longji felt guilty for a while, he sighed secretly, and said softly to his grandson: "I am just an expedient measure, first let your imperial uncles regain the military power, and then I will take back the military power from them and hand it over to you, you also know that the Central Plains is empty and the frontier is full of soldiers, it is difficult to ensure that those border ministers do not disagree, if they rebel, or support the army to stand on their own, it will be a catastrophe for our Li family, so I will solve this crisis in my lifetime, you can rest assured!" I won't go so soon, and I'll give you the throne in its entirety. ”
The emperor's grandfather's explanation made Li Yu sigh in his heart, with the emperor's grandfather indulging his body like this, how long could his life last?
Li Yu was speechless, and after a while, he said: "Imperial grandfather, grandson still suggests that Li Qing'an send troops back to Fu, I think this is the safest way to solve the current crisis." ”
Li Yu also knew that his imperial grandfather could no longer change the established strategy, he could only seek the second best thing, and most safely solve the crisis of the invasion of the Hui south, he was very worried that the 70,000 Tang troops who went north to support Shuo Fang, let the inexperienced little prince command, it was likely to be defeated by the Hui people in a battle, in that way, even if the Hui people could not enter the pass, and the entire Longyou would be destroyed by the Hui people like locusts.
But Li Longji's mind has been decided, he will not allow anyone to sabotage his plan to seize power, he frowned, and said in a long voice: "I know, I will handle this matter properly, so don't ask." ”
Li Yu was helpless, he was about to say goodbye and retire, when he suddenly remembered something, and said: "Imperial grandfather, I want to visit my father, I wonder if the imperial grandfather allows it?" ”
Li Longji nodded, "If you want to be filial, I can't do it, your father is not in good health, you have to care more about him, go!" ”
"Grandson retires!"
Li Yu retreated, at this time Li Longji felt tired and abnormal, he struggled to straighten his waist, his back was already difficult to straighten, which made him feel painful, he changed to a comfortable posture and lay down, gently kneaded his forehead, considering the worries of his grandson just now, let Li Xuan alone with 70,000 troops to support, this is indeed a bit difficult to reassure, there must be an experienced general with him, and this general must be someone he can trust, he thought about it and ordered: "Immediately send the eldest grandson Quanxu to see me!" ”
........ The news of the invasion of the Hui to the south was like a gust of wind, and soon spread to every corner of Chang'an, the streets and alleys, everywhere was talking about this matter, and unlike the worries of the officials, most of the ordinary people did not take this matter to heart, they did not think that the Hui could enter Chang'an.
There is a wine shop outside the East Market near the Xuanyang Fangfang Gate, called Taiyuan Wine Shop, because the proprietor is Taiyuan people and the homonym of Taiyuan, there is no bad business in the wine shop near the East Market, this wine shop has four floors, the first floor and the second floor are the lobby, the third and fourth floors are the elegant seats, every meal time, here is always full of guests, until the drum of the closed door sounded at night, the guests were full of wine and food to disperse.
The wine shop is a public place, and it is naturally a place for the distribution of all kinds of news, the anecdotes around the Tang Dynasty, the fragrant scandals in the major green buildings, and the intrigue in the court are all topics of interest to everyone, especially in Chang'an, almost every household has relatives who are officials in the court, so some secrets of officialdom and the promotion of officials, etc., this kind of topic is also very concerning, at noon, the Taiyuan wine shop is still full of diners, almost every table is full of people, or sitting or lying, chatting around the table, It's noisy.
In front of a small table by the window on the second floor sat a person, he was alone at a table, surrounded by two attendants with big shoulders and round waists, he was dressed in a purple robe, a jade belt around his waist, and a pair of extraordinarily slender eyes, but his eyes were extremely attentive, this person was the former crown prince Li Heng, who had been deposed for almost three years.
Since the eldest son entered the East Palace, Li Heng has been completely free, Li Longji also removed the eunuchs who monitored him, and allowed him to go out freely, after nearly two years of observation, Li Longji has confirmed that Li Heng is no longer a threat to the throne, he has become insignificant, of course, this is also related to Li Longji's main strategy of appointing the prince on a large scale, not only Li Heng, but also the freedom of other princes He basically let go, not only that, in order to appease Li Yu, Li Longji changed the title of Li Heng to the loyal king, this is Li Heng before the crown prince, The restoration of his original identity shows that Li Longji has completely rehabilitated him in the Wupu case.
At this time, Li Heng sat at the table and drank a bowl of medicinal tea without hurrying, but his two ears were listening attentively to the chats of other guests, he used to live in the palace, and almost no contact with the people at the bottom, but now he likes to go to various wine shops and teahouses to experience the people's feelings, this Thai Yuan wine shop is also a place he often comes to, and he also has a table here.
Contrary to Li Longji's gradual decay, Li Heng's body is like a word, he ignores the worries of the temple, or goes to the pear orchard to listen to music, or goes to the teahouse to drink tea, or rides a horse to the suburbs to hunt, the whole day is leisurely, coupled with his careful care, the original weak body is getting stronger day by day.
But today Li Heng is also a little worried, he just heard a few bad news, the most important of which is the invasion of the south of the Hui, although Li Heng no longer asks about the political affairs of the imperial court, but the invasion of the Hui is related to the safety of the Tang Sheji, he is also very concerned, he thinks that the imperial court should immediately transfer Li Qing'an and An Lushan from the east and west ends to the hinterland of the grassland, forcing the Hui to withdraw the troops, but he is no different from the civilians, his suggestions are nowhere to mention.
At this time, the conversation at the table next to him attracted his attention, it was a few young students, young people who always did not think much about the feelings of others, so their voices were also extremely loud.
"Have you heard that Anxi Li Qing'an actually has the ambition to be the emperor!" A dark, thin man said loudly.
"I also heard that now Chang'an has spread the word, saying that Li Qing'an is recruiting troops everywhere, and he has more than 200,000 troops, at least 3560,000, and it is said that his pomp and circumstance in Anxi are no different from the emperor, which is simply terrifying."
"He was originally the emperor of Anxi, and besides, he is a clan, and after he became the crown prince, I am not surprised at all if he ascends the throne and becomes the emperor in the future."
This kind of thing is not dared to be said casually, even if it is said, it is a whisper, or written on the table with water, to prevent the partition wall from having ears, but these scholars don't care, plus they drank a little wine, they are even more unscrupulous, talking loudly at the top of their voices, attracting the attention of the first floor, the shop guys secretly complained, and had the heart to stop them, but they were afraid of affecting the business, and several scholars saw that everyone was focused on them, and they were even more proud.
"Actually, I hope Li Qingan can ascend the throne."
Another scholar with a Hedong accent said: "He did a good job in Anxi, there is no land annexation, the tax is light, I have an uncle, their family has migrated to the broken leaves, not long ago I received a letter from them, saying that their life is very good, the family has an acre of fifty acres of upper fields, and also divided a horse, he bought another cow, the field is thirty taxes one, now spring ploughing, before the harvest the government gives rations and cloth, my cousin went to the government-run broken leaf silk weaving workshop, there is a daily salary of 200 Wen, Take a break every ten years, and give back 50 yuan when you rest, and you will have six yuan a month! Even I was moved, my cousin and I have been married since childhood, and I plan to go to Anxi to marry her, and by the way, find something to do in Anxi. ”
Li Heng sat next to him and drank tea slowly, and listened to their conversation word by word, in fact, it was not the first time he had heard someone say it, in the past two days, it was rumored everywhere that Li Qing'an had the ambition to be the emperor, Li Heng realized that this was most likely someone was spreading rumors, if it was a foreign enemy, it was the other way around, his brows were furrowed, Li Qing'an's situation was unfavorable!
At this time, there was a rush of footsteps at the staircase, and the discussion on the second floor suddenly calmed down, and everyone looked at the staircase, only to see a middle-aged man who looked like a housekeeper running up, and everyone was immediately relieved, it was not a government official, and the lobby continued to be noisy.
Li Heng put down the tea bowl, and the person who came turned out to be his butler, who walked quickly to Li Heng and whispered in his ear: "Lord Wang, His Royal Highness the Taisun sees that you are here and is waiting in the mansion." ”
Li Heng's spirits perked up, he had only seen his son once since this year, and that was when his son presided over the New Year's party on behalf of his father on the fifth day of the first lunar month.
He immediately stood up and said, "I'll go back now!" ”
The Thai Yuan Liquor Store was not far from Li Heng's mansion, and after a quarter of an hour, Li Heng's carriage slowly stopped in front of the mansion, and he quickly got out of the carriage, and an attendant immediately ran forward to report, "His Royal Highness Taisun has been waiting for a long time. ”
"I see!"
Li Heng glanced at the honor guard that stopped on the opposite side, there were hundreds of people, and he knew in his heart that his son was not secretly coming to see him, but should have obtained his father's permission, that is to say, he had talked to his father today, and the conversation was naturally about the invasion of the south, and it seemed that the imperial court had already taken countermeasures to the invasion of the south.
As soon as he was in good health, his mind naturally became sharp, and Li Heng deduced many things from his son's entourage of honor guards.
"Bring him to the study later!"
Li Heng passed through the middle gate and came directly to the study in the backyard, his Liangdi Zhang brought him a bowl of bird's nest porridge, Li Heng's former crown princess Wei was deposed because of the Wei Jian case in Tianbao's fifth year, and was forced to become a nun, and his other wife, Du Liangdi, was also driven out of the East Palace because of her father's Du Youlin case, abolished as a concubine, and it is said that he remarried a commoner, and later under the mercy of Li Longji, Li Heng set up a new concubine Zhang as Liangdi, known as Zhang Liangdi.
Zhang Liangdi is considerate and capable, not only serving Li Heng well, but also keeping the house in order, which is deeply favored by Li Heng, and she gave birth to Li Heng's second son Li Department more than ten years ago, and was named the king of Nanyang, so it is reasonable for her to replace Concubine Wei.
Li Heng took the bird's nest and said with a smile: "Prepare another bowl, Yu'er is here." ”
"Don't worry, sir, I'm ready."
At this time, Li Yu's voice came from outside the door, "Father, can I come in?" ”
Li Heng casually closed a book on the table and said with a smile: "Come in!" ”
The door opened, and Li Yu walked in worriedly, kneeling down for his father and stepmother, "The child will meet his father and mother." ”
"Get up!"
Li Heng glanced at his son, and saw that he looked much more stable and old than before, so he nodded and smiled: "My son has really improved again." ”
Zhang Liangdi was also very enthusiastic about Li Yu for the sake of her son, she smiled and personally brought in a bowl of bird's nest porridge from outside, put it in front of Li Yu and said with a smile: "Yu'er, this is yours." ”
"Thank you, Mother!"
Zhang Liangdi smiled and said, "Your father and son will talk, and I will close the door for you." ”
She closed the door and went out, and only Li Heng's father and son were left in the room, Li Heng smiled and said, "How does it feel to be a grandson?" I'm tired! ”
"A little, but I can hold it up."
Li Heng smiled, "If you can't support it, let your father do it for you, I have experience." ”
Li Yu was terrified in his heart, he didn't know what his father meant by this, and hurriedly said: "If the father wants it, the child can give way at any time." ”
The smile on Li Heng's face disappeared, his slender eyes narrowed, and he looked at his son and said, "Are you really willing?" ”
"If the father wants it, the child will go and tell the grandfather."
Li Heng laughed again, "I'm just joking with you, you must not take it seriously." ”
He sighed and said: "After so many ups and downs, my heart has long died, fortunately, God has given me a good son, so that he can inherit my unfinished business, you enter the East Palace than I enter the East Palace makes me more happy, I am worried that your imperial grandfather is too harsh on you, just like me back then, but now it seems that he is far better to his grandson than to his son, but you also have to be careful!" ”
Li Yu nodded, "The child is careful in everything, and he will never be caught." ”
"That's good!"
Li Heng took a sip of bird's nest porridge and said with a smile: "Have you seen the imperial grandfather today?" ”
"Yes! In the morning, I had an emergency court meeting, and then I went to see him alone. ”
"How is he? I mean, he's okay! Li Heng asked quietly.
"Very bad!" Li Yu shook his head slightly, "Grandfather Huang looks very old, like an old man in his eighties, and his back is already rickety. ”
"What did the Imperial Doctor say?"
After a while, Li Yucai said in a low voice: "The imperial doctor is worried that if the imperial grandfather continues to indulge like this, I am afraid that he will not be able to survive this year." ”
At this moment, a thick hatred burst out in Li Heng's eyes, and then disappeared, and he smiled slightly: "Let's talk about going back to Fu!" What is the final solution? But let Li Qingan send troops? ”
Li Yu's expression was frustrated, and he sighed and said, "Wang Xiangguo, Zhang Shangshu, and even Yang Guozhong all thought that letting Li Qing'an send troops was the best solution, but the emperor's grandfather refused. ”
"No!" Li Heng was stunned, "Then how is he going to solve it?" ”
"The emperor's grandfather has dismissed An Sishun's Shuofang Jiedu envoy, let Guo Ziyi take over, and ordered the twenty-ninth imperial uncle to lead a total of 70,000 troops to the west of Longyou Hexi to support Shuofang."
Li Heng didn't say anything for a long time, and he immediately understood that it was a good means for his father to seize power! Taking advantage of the rebellion of Huifu, he seized the military power of the two major jiedu envoys of Longyou and Shuofang in one fell swoop, and he couldn't help but sigh in a low voice, "I'm afraid that he is taking chestnuts from the fire, but he didn't get them, but hurt his hands." ”
"Yes! We all think so, Li Xuan is only twenty years old, he just went to Longyou because his mother Wu Xianyi was favored, he doesn't have any outstanding talent, he hasn't even fought at all, I am worried that he will be defeated by Hui Hui in the first battle, endangering the safety of the entire Longyou, at that time I am afraid that Guanzhong may not be able to survive. ”
Speaking of this, Li Yu's eyes turned red again, and he said sadly: "I begged the imperial grandfather not to build a strong domain and weaken the East Palace, which will lead to a civil war between the eight kings of Jin in the future, but the imperial grandfather did not take it to heart, he has already made up his mind to divide the kings, father, if he can't survive today, what should I do?" ”
Li Yu knelt down, kowtowed and cried: "I am already haggard, begging my father to teach me." ”
Li Heng hurriedly helped his son up and comforted him: "My son doesn't have to worry, he has his own good plan for his father." ”
Li Yu was overjoyed, he knew that his father would definitely have a way, he stood up and looked at his father with hope.
Li Heng sneered, gritted his teeth and said: "Since he accepted his daughter-in-law as a concubine, he has become mediocre, reusing the annihilation of ministers, deposing good materials, killing Han generals, self-destructing Chang'an, and single-handedly causing today's bad situation, he is irreparable, so he will not hesitate to sacrifice the common people in the world and the emperor's eldest grandson to solve the crisis, he knows that the strong domain will cause a battle for the throne, but he wants to do this, it is nothing more than to guarantee the throne in the hands of his son, regardless of your life or death, hum!" He is unkind, and neither are we. ”
Li Heng lowered his voice and said to his son: "We can do both, you immediately write a letter to Li Qing'an, and order him to immediately send troops back to Su and force him to withdraw as soon as possible, and secondly, I estimate that neither Ge Shuhan nor An Sishun will hand over the military power so easily, and now he wants to seize the rights of these two people, which is your chance, especially the relationship between Ge Shuhan and me has always been good, you can secretly order Ge Shuhan not to hand over power, in this way, Li Xuan will not be able to take away so many soldiers, I think after this incident, Ge Shuhan will turn to be loyal to you, This is called drawing wages from the bottom of the kettle, and losing the east corner and reaping the mulberry elm. ”
Li Yu was a little hesitant, it seemed to be unjust to the emperor's grandfather to do so, Li Heng saw through his son's heart, he snorted coldly and said, "What do you think is the battle for the throne?" Benevolence, righteousness, loyalty and filial piety were written by historians for future generations, if you really do this, it means stupidity and suicide, you think clearly for yourself! ”
Li Yu sighed and said, "I'll write to Li Qing'an, but I can't find a suitable candidate on Ge Shuhan's side." ”
Li Heng sat up straight and said with a faint smile: "Anyway, I have nothing to do, so I'll run for you!" ”
(To be continued)