Da Tang: Father, can I resign?

Chapter 191: Zhangsun Wuji: Li Ming may need help, but helping Li Ming is unlikely
Before I saw the person, I heard his voice first.

Li Ming and Fang Xuanling heard at the same time hurried footsteps coming from outside the corridor, and even the wooden floor in the room vibrated slightly.

Then, a dark-skinned, tall, muscular young man wearing a short-sleeved shirt appeared at the door of the study.

"Haha~ July in Chang'an is really hot. Why didn't I notice it before?"

This sunny young man, who looked like an ordinary porter, walked carelessly into the center of the national administrative agency, picked up the teapot and poured water into his throat.

"You're welcome..." Li Ming said with a twitching mouth.

The young man was really rude. He sat down cross-legged carelessly, slapped the documents on Li Ming's desk, and said in a hoarse voice:
"Damn it, if it wasn't for you, Brother Ming, my butt wouldn't be so painful."

Li Ming stood in awe.

Fang Xuanling shuddered involuntarily.

For some reason, this strange boy always gave him a strange sense of disharmony.

And the outgoing boy is actually not as careless as he appears.

He sat in the room for a while and soon noticed the awkward but polite smiles of the two hosts.

"You two didn't recognize me, right?" The boy frowned.

"No, no, that's not the case." Li Ming and Fang Xuanling said in unison.

The young man waved his hand carelessly:

"Come on, I don't know what kind of people you two are."

As he spoke, he lowered his head, put his face closer to the two confused people, and lifted his bangs:
"Look carefully, it's me.

"Chang Sunyan."

"what?!"

Li Ming called out subconsciously, almost popping his eyes out, and looked carefully at this great grandson of the Changsun family, the chief executive secretary and neighborhood committee director of Liaodong.

Well, after I reminded him, I can indeed see some traces of the weak scholar in the past.

Probably, they all have one nose and two eyes.

Wow, men really change a lot when they grow up.

Even after Li Minggang left Liaodong, Changsun Yan seamlessly entered puberty.

This change is a bit too big.

Not only did his height increase, his voice became more powerful, and his temperament also naturally became full of confidence.

My fellow generals, it turns out that being an official is really the best medical beauty for men.

It's only been half a year since they last saw each other, and even Li Ming, the king of the kids who 'watched him grow up', couldn't recognize him!

Damn it, why after a year, I just changed from a glutinous rice dumpling to a longer glutinous rice dumpling...

"You are... Chang Sun Yan?!"

Even the mature and steady Comrade Lao Fang was stunned with surprise.

He finally understood where this strange feeling of disharmony came from.

Chang Sunyan's facial features have fully developed, and his face is becoming more and more like his grandfather when he was young.

That is, Zhangsun Wuji.

Looking at this young version of his old rival, he is covered in muscular muscles and is called "Brother Ming" on the left and "Father Xiang" on the right.

It gave him a sense of time and space confusion, as if he had entered a parallel universe.

After a brief exchange of greetings, Li Ming asked in surprise:

"Why are you here? Work..."

"Don't worry, the work has been handed over." Chang Sunyan knew his leader's fussy temper and reported in advance.

Although the two hadn't seen each other for several months, they communicated almost every day despite the half-month delay, so they were very familiar with each other's temperament.

Li Ming was still a little worried:
"Are the talents under your command capable of taking over your business?"

Don’t be fooled by the fact that Chang Sun Yan’s title contains the word “secretary”, which makes it seem like it is just a position of serving tea and water.

Friends who have watched a certain British TV series know that secretaries are not simple.

Friends who have traded stocks also know that "board secretary" and "chairman's secretary" are two completely different species.

The secretariat headed by Chang Sun Yan belongs to the former category and is in a very strategic position.

He's gone, who can take over?
Although Liaodong has developed rapidly, its starting point was too low.

Local basic education is particularly weak.

Before he took over, most of the people in Pingzhou were working as slaves for the Murong family, and most of the people in Yingzhou were still fighting with the Northeast Golden Shaded Dogs in the tribes.

Therefore, although the lower limit of talent there is low, the upper limit is not high either.

If it were just about governing the two inferior states locally, it would be fine.

The problem is that it is now tasked with infiltrating and inciting rebellion in a certain northern neighbor.

This is definitely not a task that can be shouldered by a few people from Liaodong who were still farmers last year.

“Well, I discovered two talents locally, and they are quite useful.

"I mentioned it in my letter before. He is my right-hand man."

Chang Sunyan said simply.

Although he looks like an ordinary porter, he has the most important qualities of an excellent chief secretary -

Be careful and write diligently.

"One is Cen Changqian, and the other is Wang Benli?" Li Ming blurted out.

He just glanced at the two names and remembered them subconsciously.

Being good at recognizing people is also one of the most important qualities of a good leader.

"Pfft..." Upon hearing these two names, Fang Xuanling almost spit out a mouthful of tea.

Li Ming raised his eyebrows in surprise: "Husband, do you know these two people?"

"I am not familiar with Wang Benli. But that Cen Changqian..."

Fang Xuanling half raised his head and recalled:

"Could he be the nephew of the Minister of the Central Secretariat, Cen Wenben?"

Unlike Mr. Wang next door, Cen is not a common surname.

With this unique name, it is almost impossible to mistake it.

"Puff..." Li Ming almost spit out a mouthful of tea.

Is this world actually a huge global village?

How can they just randomly recruit someone who is a relative of their arch-enemy Lao Cen?
Then Li Ming looked at Chang Sun Yan in front of him, and his surprise quickly subsided.

Well, the grandson of his and Lao Fang’s biggest rival in the court, Brother Changsun Wuji, is working as 007 for their Liaodong Empire every day.

"Cen Changqian's parents died early, and she was raised by her uncle Cen Wenben."

Fang Xuanling was also familiar with the personnel affairs of his colleagues in the court:
“Anyone with a discerning eye knows that Liaodong is now a land of great opportunities.

"Chang Qian probably wants to try her luck in Liaodong. It's a shortcut to success."

There is no doubt that, like Changsun Yan, Xiao Cen’s behavior should also be condoned by the Cen family.

Betting on multiple fronts and being flexible are the keys to how these powerful families have been able to survive through the years of storms.

"There is actually such a background? I just think Cen Changqian is talented." Chang Sunyan said:

"But Wang Benli's talent is not inferior to Chang Qian's. After Brother Ming returns to Liaodong, I will introduce both of them to you."

"Okay, okay." Li Ming nodded happily.

It would be great if you could "promote" talented people and make use of the world's pillars of talent.

What they don’t know is that Xiao Cen and Lao Wang both served as prime ministers in history.

But it was made for Wu Zetian.

Cen Changqian later achieved Li Ming's current position and became "Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi".

In the end, he tried his best to maintain the legitimacy of the Li Tang Dynasty, but was killed by Wu Zetian.

Wang Benli, on the other hand, inherited Hou Junji's fine tradition.

He became a big corrupt official and was demoted...

It would be enough for these two future prime ministers to manage Liaodong and Goguryeo.

Under Li Ming's remote micro-manipulation, Liaodong has now become a true magnet for humans.

People of all kinds, good and bad, flocked there.

There are “customers” who cannot afford food and have lost their land, and there are craftsmen who do not want to be pariahs.

There were also frustrated scholars who did not have enough family connections or were not good at the imperial examinations, and came here to try their luck.

This makes Liaodong a huge pool of talent and manpower.

Fortunately, the household registration system in the early Tang Dynasty had not yet gotten out of control, and most people were tied to their own land by a household registration system called "main household."

Otherwise, Liaodong would experience a population explosion and fall into the Malthusian trap ahead of schedule.

"Okay, okay, I trust you to do the job."

Li Ming nodded with satisfaction:
"Are you back to visit your family?"

"Let's find out what happened in the Tang Dynasty!"

Chang Sunyan's expression suddenly changed, and he said seriously:

“The postal service in Hebei Province was completely cut off. Although there was no war or famine, no one was delivering mail.

"I came back this time to bring you the backlog of letters that have been piled up for a while."

Then he handed him a large stack of texts in the package.

"That's great." Li Ming immediately took these precious reports.

When money was scarce, communications with Liaodong became intermittent.

Ever since the widespread money shortage broke out, there has been no news from Liaodong.

Although Li Ming knew that the postman was upset because he did not get his salary.

But he still felt uneasy about losing touch with his base.

To give an extreme example, if Liaodong was suddenly hit by a meteorite from the sky and turned into a huge pit, he wouldn't know about it, right?

"Since last month, the economic situation in Liaodong has not been ideal."

Li Ming glanced at a few numbers casually and frowned.

The summer harvest went quite smoothly and infrastructure construction within the country was in full swing.

However, the rapid growth momentum of mining and iron smelting was interrupted and entered a plateau period.

“Because trade with inland counties and cities has been almost halved.”

Chang Sunyan didn't need to think too much and skillfully stated the root cause:
“It’s not because the goods are bad, but because Datang has no money to buy them!
"There's not even enough rice and cloth to replace copper coins!"

Compared with the Tang Dynasty, Liaodong was too small.

When the demands of the Tang Dynasty fluctuate, the hearts of the people of Liaodong will also jump up and down.

This feeling of relying on others made Chang Sun Yan very upset.

He became more and more angry as he spoke, slammed the table, and blurted out that famous quote:

"Damn it, how did the country become like this!

"Are the Secretariat and the Ministry of Personnel a nest of insects? As decision-makers, how could you have turned the country into this state?"

Ahem… As the current top leader of Zhongshu Sect, Li Ming coughed dryly:
“It’s being solved. It’s being solved.

"It is the lack of liquidity caused by the hoarding of metals, and the substitution effect of other general equivalents that squeezes out consumer demand, leading to economic stagflation."

Li Ming briefly explained what happened.

Chang Sunyan nodded:

"Oh, this is serious. We must keep an eye on border trade and prevent the outflow of strategic materials."

“I’m taking care of it,” Li Ming replied.

Fang Xuanling: “?”

Are you guys having any encrypted conversations?

I know every word, so why can’t I understand when they are put together?

And why could such a niche sentence allow Chang Sun Yan to understand the cause and effect?
That day, Li Ming spent a whole day explaining in the imperial study before the three most powerful minds in the empire fully understood it!

Lao Fang looked confused.

For the first time in his life, he realized that his brain had become old and could not keep up with the pace of young people...

"Do you need my help?" Chang Sunyan asked naturally.

Li Ming shook his head:

"Since you are back in Beijing for vacation, spend more time with your family."

Originally, Chang Sunyan was not his official employee.

Li Baopi felt embarrassed for having been taking advantage of his friend's cheap labor.

…………

into the night.

Changsun Wuji forced himself to support his tired body and rode his horse out of the palace and back home.

Although he had various opinions about Li Ming, the king's uncle still recognized Li Ming's work ability.

However, in other words, although he recognized Li Ming's ability, he had no intention of jumping ship to join the 14th Party.

As I said, the biggest watershed in life is amniotic fluid.

They are currently only in a temporary partnership.

The fact that Li Ming was not Empress Changsun's biological son destined this pair of nominal "nephew and uncle" to eventually go their separate ways.

"If His Highness can really solve this cash shortage perfectly, then...

"Your Majesty's favor, the hearts of the people, the loyalty of the court officials, and...

"I'm afraid the position of crown prince will belong to him."

As Chang Sun Wuji's mind turned, a bad idea naturally came to his mind:
She secretly made trouble and hindered Li Ming, causing him to mess up the money shortage, thus losing the support of the emperor and the people...

"But if you go too far, not only will your evil intentions be exposed, but it will also easily ruin the entire Tang Dynasty."

Changsun Wuji dismissed the idea.

A second, more mature bad idea comes to mind:

"Perhaps, I can use the tactic of procrastination. Instead of tripping him up directly, I can delay Li Ming's handling of this crisis."

Changsun Wuji's horse was bouncing up and down, and the plan slowly took shape.

“After a long time, Your Majesty will lose patience, and then I will instruct a few ministers to submit an impeachment petition and remove him from his high position.

"Then I will follow his example and use his method to solve the money shortage and take all the credit?"

Compared to pure sabotage, this operation is more difficult, but not impossible.

Procrastination and shirking credit and blame can be said to be the basic skills of bureaucrats.

And the credit that can be gained is really remarkable!
Maybe it will greatly change the situation of the competition for the throne and support His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin, who is weak and easy to manipulate... Bah, and be open to "professional guidance"!

If it were during the reign of Emperor Li Zhi, Changsun Wuji would definitely have done this.

But in the current reign of Li Shimin, Old Li is not so easy to fool.

If he dared to slack off or try to be clever, Lao Li would kick him to Hongzhou.

Similarly, Xiao Li is no ordinary person.

They are kept in check by a father and son who are smarter than ghosts.

It is not easy for Changsun Wuji to resort to the tactic of "non-violent non-cooperation".

"Then what should I do? Should I send that fellow to the throne myself?"

Changsun Wuji was almost scratching his scalp bald.

"After that fellow ascends the throne, will he let me go? Will he let my family go?

"Or, for the sake of the child.

"For Chang Sunyan's sake..."

Sending their beloved grandson to Liaodong for "further studies" was a tacit agreement among the Changsun family that they could do but not say.

Chang Sunyan holds a special status in the family.

He is the eldest son of Changsun Chong, the legitimate son of Changsun Wuji, and Li Lizhi, the legitimate daughter of Your Majesty, Princess Changle, a pair of royal cousins.

Letting Changsun Yan assist Li Ming has a strong implication of betting on both sides.

"That's unlikely. 'That' His Majesty is vindictive.

"Besides, considering what I did to him..."

Changsun Wuji is still very aware of himself.

He dispatched the Imperial Guards to surround Li Ming's family, almost killed Li Ming in his sleep, and almost replaced Li Ming's father...

His care for his cheap "nephew" can be said to be quite meticulous.

I believe he will get an overwhelming reward from his nephew.

"Should I hold back, or..."

Changsun Wuji kept muttering to himself, and rode his horse across the Duke of Zhao's mansion, exhausted both physically and mentally.

"Lang Jun?"

After being reminded by his servants, he suddenly realized that he had already arrived home, and got off the horse in a daze.

As I walked with heavy steps to the main hall door, I heard the bustling noise in the house.

He pushed the door open in confusion.

"Aweng!"

Then he saw a dark-skinned teenager, speaking in a hoarse voice, bowing to him.

"Who are you……

"Yan'er?"

Although he is not like those two guys who turned around and ignored people.

But it took Changsun Wuji some time to recognize his eldest grandson, and he hugged him with excitement and heartache.

"How did you become like this?"

The grandfather and grandson had a touching reunion, and Changsun Wuji carefully looked at the appearance of his eldest grandson.

The more he looked at it, the more his brows furrowed.

It was only at the beginning of this year, when Changsun Yan returned to Chang'an to report the news, that he had the opportunity to catch a glimpse of her.

At that time, Chang Sun Yan's appearance had already shown signs of not looking good.

Dark skin and hoarse voice.

And today's Chang Sun Yan has completely confirmed this ominous trend.

As black and rough as a dock porter.

Even though she was wearing a precious brocade silk robe, she no longer had the jade-like elegance she once had.

On the contrary, a word that might not be appropriate came to Changsun Wuji's mind:

Mu monkey and crown.

It's like a poor slave who secretly wears his master's clothes.

That bastard Li Ming, is this how he treats the eldest grandson of the Changsun family, the grandson of the royal family?! ...

Changsun Wuji felt a little dizzy.

Ever since that guy abducted his beloved eldest grandson to Liaodong, Changsun Wuji has been secretly dissatisfied.

He had only intended to use Chang Sunyan as a sign of goodwill, as the bargaining chip for the family to hedge its bets.

Just be a follower of a naughty kid in a relaxed and happy manner.

I never thought of treating my grandson as a "peace princess" and marrying him off to Liaodong!

New and old grudges came to his mind at once, and Changsun Wuji's face darkened.

"Aweng?"

Chang Sunyan keenly noticed the change in his expression.

Zhang Sun Wuji immediately returned to normal:

"Aong... I'm just a little tired."

"Indeed, the weather in Chang'an is hot and it's easy to get tired. Aung should also make sure to rest."

Chang Sunyan took over the topic tactfully and said casually:
"I would love to wear a short shirt, too. Long shirts are too hot."

"What? Short shirt?!" Changsun Wuji was shocked.

"Yeah." Chang Sunyan spoke with a Northeastern accent:

"I wish I could take off my long gown and work more efficiently in a short gown."

Short shirt...isn't that something that dock porters and street vegetable farmers wear?
Also, what the hell is work?

Li Mingzhen ordered Zhang Sunyan to do low-status manual labor? !
Changsun Wuji's sharp gaze swept over his own eldest son.

That is Chang Sunyan’s father, Chang Sun Chong.

"When Yanyanyan came back just now, he was wearing a short shirt. I just changed it for him."

After being glared at by his father, Chang Sun Chong immediately lost his temper and explained stutteringly.

Changsun Wuji's pupils shrank.

The great grandson of Duke Zhao, a founding hero of the Tang Dynasty, and the great son of the Tang Princess.

Wearing the same clothes as ordinary workers?!
His blood boiled again and he was extremely angry.

Good job, Li Ming!
You bastard, how exactly do you want to humiliate the eldest grandson of the Changsun family?
Don't you know that Changsun Yan is a sign of our Changsun family's goodwill towards you, and a bridge of communication that leaves a way out for us to do things?

Treat him like this?!
Or is it that Li Ming did this knowingly?

Are you torturing me, Changsun Wuji, by torturing Changsun Yan?

This is a provocation, this is a declaration of war!
This clearly tells the Changsun family that the two sides are irreconcilable!

"Aweng...why are your eyes bloodshot?"

Chang Sunyan asked worriedly.

Zhang Sun Wuji was in a trance:
"I... am worried about whether you are living well in Liaodong and whether you are being treated fairly."

"Huh? Why do you say that, old man?" Chang Sun Yan looked confused.

He said that he was living a good and happy life.

Although he works 996 and occasionally 007, and although he does the work of a "permanent" secretary under the name of "temporary help".

But he felt that he had truly realized his life value in Liaodong.

"I think you should go back to Chang'an."

Changsun Wuji said slowly.

"why?"

Not only his grandson Chang Sunyan, but even his son Chang Sunchong felt somewhat puzzled.

"Father, isn't Yan'er...a capable subordinate of the Prime Minister?
"Why do you want to..."

While Li Ming is still keeping a low profile, the Changsun family can still send Changsun Yan as an insurance against a complete breakup between the two sides.

Now Li Ming is in an unstoppable position and has shown the magnanimity of "letting bygones be bygones" by still employing his old rival Changsun Wuji.

Why do they want to remove Chang Sun Yan now and completely ruin their relationship with Li Ming?

"What do you know!"

When facing his son, Changsun Wuji was not so polite and started to criticize him directly:
"Look at what Yan'er has been through in Liaodong. Is he taken seriously there?
"If your son continues to waste his time like this, he will become a waste!"

Chang Sun Chong is like a larger version of Chang Sun Yan (nostalgic version). To put it nicely, he is as gentle as jade, but to put it bluntly, he is cowardly and incompetent.

After being scolded by his father, he immediately panicked.

When he looked at his son again, he felt a surge of anger in his heart.

At first, he was happy that his son was more mature and manly.

After being enlightened by his father, he also felt that His Highness Li Ming was really going too far.

He is simply treating his son like a beast of burden.

Not only did he get tanned into the appearance of a porter, but his behavior habits were also almost regressing to that of a porter!
As a parent, who doesn’t care about their son’s education?

It seems that Chang Sunyan’s education has been neglected!

"His Highness Li Ming is abusing Yan'er so much, it seems he is turning his back on our family." Changsun Wuji sneered.

I would have my heart to the bright moon, but the bright moon illuminates the ditch.

If you don't follow martial ethics, don't blame me for holding you back...

He was so angry that he was shaking all over and made up his mind secretly.

…………

Late at night, Changsun Wuji continued to work by lamplight.

Halfway through writing the document, he suddenly crumpled up the paper and threw it aside angrily.

Damn it, he has already made up his mind to hold Li Ming back.

Why are you still working overtime to complete the tasks he assigned?

Changsun Wuji felt that he was being humiliated and crossed his arms angrily.

After sitting for a while, he picked up the pen again and started writing quickly.

Never mind, the people are innocent.

Let’s solve the current problem first, and then give up.

Tomorrow, wait for tomorrow...

Tomorrow we must adopt a non-violent and non-cooperative approach, unite with the officials in the court, and bring down Li Ming!
Just as he was feeling irritated, he was working hard for Li Ming proudly.

There was also an annoying mosquito buzzing next to my ear.

"Ah Weng Ah Weng~"

Changsun Yanni is beside Changsun Wuji.

"Why don't you let me go back to Liaodong?"

"You are a native of Chang'an, a master of Beijing! Not a barbarian from Liaodong!"

Changsun Wuji made the same statement as his brother-in-law.

Anyway, you can't stop me, just jump into a car and leave...

Zhang Sunyan complained in his heart, but still called out sweetly:

"Ah Weng Ah Weng~ Then why can't I go on a business trip to Liaodong?"

He who keeps company with vermilion becomes red, and he who keeps company with light becomes corrupt.

Chang Sunyan also learned Li Ming's trick of rolling around and acting like a spoiled child.

But Changsun Wuji felt a little uncomfortable seeing a strong boy acting so cute.

"What kind of errand are you on? You were sold out and you're still counting money for someone else?"

Zhang Sun Wuji was a little angry:
“What can you learn there? What can Li Ming teach you?
"How do we move the iron ore? Or how do we plow the fields?

"It's such a disgrace and a waste of life!"

It was rare for him to lose his temper with his eldest grandson.

The study was quiet for a while.

Chang Sunyan fell silent, his head lowered.

"Huh..." Changsun Wuji also let out a breath and continued to work.

Not long after, Chang Sunyan spoke again:

"Ah Weng Ah Weng~"

"Tsk." Changsun Wuji was a little impatient:
"I will not allow you to go to Liaodong, so just give up on this idea."

Go back to Liaodong to be a porter? Or go down to the mines to be a miner?
"No, it's here."

Changsun stretched out his finger and pointed at the documents on Changsun Wuji's desk.

It was exactly the one that he had glanced at when he lowered his head just now.

He lowered his head not to reflect, but to browse the document.

"What's wrong?" Changsun Wuji asked unhappily.

Chang Sunyan curled his lips:
"Aunt, you were tricked by your subordinates, didn't you notice?"

(End of this chapter)