Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 231 Beating the Mandarin Ducks
"Sing……"

"Tens of millions of years old!"

At the end of the tenth year, the sound of singing rituals was heard in the Purple Palace of the Daming Palace.

As the last regular court session before New Year's Eve, all officials have their own thoughts, but most of them just muddle through, thinking about relaxing on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day.

However, for the few officials who were trying to climb up the career ladder, after the news of Lu Jun's dismissal spread, many people had other ideas.

It was for this reason that Li Chen specially convened regular court sessions in the Purple Palace.

Sitting high on the golden platform, Li Chen, wearing the emperor's regular clothes, faced the officials and said:

"Before the regular court session begins, I have an order to read out."

Upon hearing this, all the ministers bowed and listened, and Li Chen continued:
"Shannan West Road Jiedushi Feng Ao has made great contributions in his tenure, but he is old now. I want to appoint Shannan West Road Jiedushi, Silver and Green Guanglu Dafu, Zuo Sanqi Changshi, Shangzhuguo, Bohai County Founding Earl, and 700 households as Shangshu Zuo Pushe, Inspector of the Ministry of War, and Acting Director of the Ministry of Personnel."

Feng Ao was granted the title of Zuo Pushe by Lu Jun, which made many officials in the palace look at each other secretly, each with their own guesses.

Feng Ao came from a prominent family and was known for his literary talent. However, he was highly valued by Emperor Wuzong and Li Deyu, so the emperor did not like him.

Under normal circumstances, even if he was transferred to the capital, he would not be granted the position of Shangshu Zuo Pushe. I think his success this time was mainly due to Liu Jilian's contribution in recovering the entire Longyou territory.

"Your Majesty, after the Shangshu was transferred to the capital to serve as Zuo Pushe, who can be appointed as Xingyuan Yin and Shannan West Circuit Jiedushi?"

An official in a purple robe stepped forward and bowed. Although he was old, he had a sturdy face and spoke in a calm tone.

After he stood up, many officials were watching. Li Chen was displeased when he saw someone questioning him. It was not until he saw the person's identity clearly that he suppressed his displeasure.

This person was Wei Mo, the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, the Co-Prime Minister and the Minister of Revenue. He was the fifth-generation grandson of Wei Zheng, a famous founding prime minister.

As early as the Kaicheng and Huichang periods, Wei Mo and Cui Guicong were famous for "making good suggestions and not bringing disgrace to upright people."

For Li Chen, who emulated Taizong in everything, employing Wei Mo was undoubtedly the best person to publicize his magnanimity like Taizong.

Therefore, even though Wei Mo spoke frankly during his time in the court, Li Chen controlled his temper and looked pleasant.

Li Chen's actions made many officials cautious of Wei Mo, fearing that they would be targeted by Wei Mo.

Now that Wei Mo stood up, with a questioning tone, Li Chen was mentally prepared.

"I haven't thought about the positions of Jiedushi of Shannan West Road and Yin of Xingyuan for the time being, so I hope you will pay more attention to them..."

As soon as Li Chen finished speaking, Wei Mo continued without giving him face:
"Since there is no candidate, then it is reasonable for Minister Feng to continue to serve in Shannan West Road until a replacement minister is selected, and then he can be transferred to the capital."

Wei Mo's words made Li Chen feel very uncomfortable, but in Wei Mo's opinion, this was very necessary.

He was well aware of the court's current efficiency. If Feng Ao was transferred in without appointing a new governor of Shannan West Road or Xingyuan Yin to replace Feng Ao, this position would most likely remain vacant for several months.

Such an official position remained vacant for several months, which was an unacceptable loss for both the imperial court and Shannan West Road.

"Ha ha……"

Li Chen chuckled and said with a genial smile: "What Wei Xiang said is very true. Do you have a candidate in mind?"

Upon hearing this, Wei Mo bowed and said, "Although the Prince's Grand Tutor Lu Jun has failed in his duties, his merits are even more outstanding, and he is old and respected. It would be better to promote him to the post of Xingyuan Yin and Shannan West Circuit Jiedushi."

"What Prime Minister Wei said is inappropriate..."

Linghu Tao spoke quietly, looking at Wei Mo, who was also the prime minister, and said righteously: "If all officials are like Master Lu, who are passive and lazy when they can't get the official position they want, how can the court function?"

Wei Mo nodded when he heard this, and bowed to Linghu Tao, saying, "Prime Minister Linghu is right, but there is no good candidate at the moment. We can only choose Junior Master Lu to replace Minister Feng, otherwise we will have to suspend the transfer of Minister Feng."

Wei Mo was not targeting people but matters. He knew that Shannan West Road needed experienced officials who could keep the situation under control, so ordinary people could not be transferred to Shannan West Road.

Feng Ao has sufficient qualifications, and the person who replaces him must be either extremely capable or extremely qualified.

Although Lu Jun had problems with his attitude, he had been in the court for more than 40 years and had served in various posts inside and outside the court. Most of his younger generations had already been promoted to the positions of Taisi. Regardless of their abilities or qualifications, it would not be a problem for them to serve as the Jiedushi of Shannan West Road and the Yin of Xingyuan.

However, Linghu Tao had been troubled by Lu Jun's passive strike for more than half a year, and now he wanted to dismiss him and send him back to his hometown. There was no possibility for him to take office.

The two argued endlessly, and Li Chen could only frown and say, "Let's put a stop to the matter of Feng Ao being transferred to the capital for now!"

"Your Majesty is wise..." Wei Mo bowed and sang "Wise" loudly.

It was not that he did not see that the emperor was trying to clip Liu Jilian's wings in Longyou. It was precisely because he saw it that he stopped it.

In his opinion, the Tang Dynasty could no longer withstand the turmoil.

Instead of dealing with Liu Jilian, it would be better to think about how to reform the tax system, reduce the burden on the people, and increase the court's revenue.

Although Liu Jilian occupied Longyou, over the years, the court only rewarded him with more than 400,000 strings of cash, averaging less than 100,000 strings of cash per year.

Using 100,000 strings of cash to appease Liu Jilian, ensure peace in Longyou, and protect Guanzhong from invasion by Tubo, this deal is very cost-effective.

Compared with Liu Jilian, the troops in various towns that waste tens or even millions of money and grain of the court every year are the forces that should be dealt with the most.

But before Wei Mo could speak, Li Chen stood up and said, "Tomorrow is New Year's Eve, and you should take care of your family affairs properly."

"We will discuss the specific matters after New Year's Day."

Obviously, Li Chen didn't want to listen to Wei Mo's criticism of him anymore, but he still looked very pleasant, not wanting to be regarded as not as magnanimous as Taizong.

Wei Mo wanted to speak to stop him, but Linghu Tao said hastily, "Tens of millions of years!"

"Tens of millions of years old..."

The court officials congratulated him one after another, and Li Chen followed him down the golden platform and went to the side hall.

Seeing this, Wei Mo had no choice but to retreat, thinking of writing down the problems of the past few years in a memorial and submitting it to the emperor after the New Year.

The ministers began to leave, but Linghu Tao stayed.

When most of the ministers had left, Linghu Tao walked into the side hall and saw Li Chen waiting for him.

"Your Majesty, Wei Mo has repeatedly disrespected Your Majesty. Please punish him!"

Linghu Tao saw that Li Chen had been unhappy with Wei Mo for a long time, so he immediately started to give him suggestions.

However, Li Chen still wanted to save face, so he did not agree, but looked at Linghu Tao with heavy eyes:
"After New Year's Day, let's announce that Xiao Ye will serve as the Minister of Works and the Co-Prime Minister of the Secretariat."

"As for Wei Mo, he has inherited the style of his ancestors and is a descendant of a famous nobleman. I respect him and should not treat him with common sense."

After Li Chen finished speaking, Linghu Tao knew that his impeachment of Wei Mo today would spread throughout the court within three days.

The emperor wanted to exile Wei Mo, but he couldn't do it according to his own wishes. If the news of his impeachment of Wei Mo were to spread, if the emperor exiled Wei Mo again in the future, the ministers would think that it was Linghu Tao's idea.

Linghu Tao felt bitter, but he had to agree: "I obey your order..."

Seeing that Linghu Tao was so sensible, Li Chen nodded with satisfaction and added:
"The matter of Lu Jun will be suppressed for the time being. If there is really no other candidate, he will be sent to Shannan West Road as an envoy."

"Given his advanced age, I'm afraid it will be difficult for him to stay in office for long."

The appointment of envoys as prime ministers was a means for the imperial court to win over those overbearing military governors and meritorious officials.

It was nothing more than granting them the title of Tongpingzhangshi, which was equivalent to the prime minister, and they were called envoys and prime ministers.

Li Chen's meaning was very clear. If there was no suitable candidate for the governor of Shannan West Road, Lu Jun would be sent to take over. At the same time, he would be given the title of envoy and prime minister to appease Lu Jun and his disciples.

Anyway, Lu Jun is nearly eighty years old. After all this trouble, it is hard to say how many years he can live.

Li Chen wanted Linghu Tao not to take it seriously, and Linghu Tao knew it very well.

Although he was dissatisfied, he still bowed to show his approval of the emperor's measures: "Your Majesty is wise."

"Okay, if there's nothing important, please leave for now."

"I will take my leave. May you live for tens of millions of years..."

During the conversation between the emperor and his ministers, Li Chen asked Linghu Tao to leave. And as Linghu Tao had expected, his impeachment of Wei Mo and Lu Jun soon spread throughout the Southern Court.

In just one afternoon, officials from the Southern Court began to discuss Linghu Wan's abuse of power and his flattery of talented people.

Linghu Tao had no way to express his grievances, so he could only swallow his grievances and continue to handle the government affairs of the three provinces.

While he was handling government affairs, Zheng Hao, who had been busy for a whole year in Changlefang, Chang'an, finally returned to his mansion.

However, after the carriage stopped, he did not rush to get off, but leaned against the carriage and took a nap.

It’s a pity that he didn’t even have time to take a nap.

"My dear, it's time to get off the bus..."

The driver was urging him. Zheng Hao frowned when he heard it, but thinking that the driver was arranged by Princess Wanshou, he could only hold back his temper: "Got it."

Zheng Hao suppressed his temper and got off the carriage, but what he saw was the princess's mansion instead of his own residence. He couldn't help but look back at the coachman angrily.

He has a handsome face, thick eyebrows, long eyes and sharp gaze. Even though he is nearly forty years old, he still has the same charm as before.

However, facing his angry gaze, the driver lowered his head and said, "This is the princess asking you to have a chat."

"understood……"

Zheng Hao wanted to get angry, but he just responded to the driver's words and turned to walk towards the princess's mansion. After a hard day's work, he finally finished dealing with the accumulated government affairs, but he still had to go to the princess's mansion to "attend court", which made Zheng Hao very upset.

He stood in front of the princess's mansion and waited for a long time until the nanny summoned him. Only then was he able to walk into the mansion, just like an official walking into the main hall.

Princess Wanshou sat in the main seat in the main hall, with servants and maids on her left and right, as if she was attending court.

"Zheng Hao has met the princess..."

It is recorded in the Tang Liudian: "The emperor's aunt is given the title of Grand Princess, the emperor's sister is given the title of Princess, and the emperor's daughter is given the title of Princess, all of whom are regarded as the first rank."

Therefore, even though Princess Wanshou was the emperor's eldest daughter and was deeply loved by him, she could only be called a princess.

After Zheng Hao bowed, Princess Wanshou, who was sitting in the main seat, stood up and walked towards him.

"My dear, you have worked hard. These two days are New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. You can rest in the princess's mansion."

Princess Wanshou was twenty-seven years old and beautiful. She had been married to Zheng Hao for eight years but they had no children.

Now that she is older, she is a little anxious.

But before Zheng Hao could agree, she heard the nanny say, "Princess, it's not good for the prince consort to stay too long."

Zheng Hao wanted to agree, but when he heard what the nanny said, he felt aggrieved.

"There will be a grand court meeting on New Year's Day, so I won't bother you at the Princess's mansion."

Zheng Hao wanted to leave, but he had to stay overnight.

Princess Wanshou was dejected when she saw this, but still nodded in agreement.

The two of them bathed and changed clothes, and finally enjoyed two hours of lovemaking. However, Zheng Hao felt someone slapping him in his sleep.

He slowly opened his eyes, only to see the old face of the nanny in front of him. She raised her chin to signal him to get up.

Zheng Hao stood up reluctantly, but alarmed Princess Wanshou who was next to him.

Princess Wanshou hugged him and said, "Are you leaving so early?"

"This..." Before Zheng Hao could speak, he heard the nanny say:
"If you indulge in sex, it will damage your reputation if it gets out."

Zheng Hao couldn't say a word. He could only hold his breath and nod, then he got dressed and walked out of the princess's mansion.

As soon as he walked out of the princess's mansion, the door was closed by the nanny.

It was only midnight (23:) at this time, and Zheng Hao, from the Xingyang Zheng family, one of the five famous families, stood in front of the princess's mansion, feeling the cold wind whistling on his face.

Unconsciously, he clenched his fists and clenched his teeth.

Fortunately, the carriage arrived in time and he didn't have to wait too long.

"Go home!"

He said this with clenched teeth, and the driver knew that he was upset, so he drove him back to the mansion without any rebuttal.

He walked into the mansion in a rage, and soon returned to his own courtyard, where he drank two pots of wine in anger.

"Did you get bullied in the princess's mansion?"

A voice came faintly, and Zheng Hao subconsciously thought of the grievances he had suffered in the princess's mansion. He used great strength in his hands and actually crushed the wine glass.

There were hurried footsteps, and Zheng Zhide, who was nearly sixty years old, stepped forward to clear the fragments from Zheng Hao's hands.

"Aye...I..."

Zheng Hao spoke to his father Zheng Zhide with some grievance, but before he could say anything, Zheng Zhide said, "This is the life of a royal consort, alas..."

After sighing, Zheng Zhide comforted Zheng Hao again: "The princess loves you and has not interfered in the matter of choosing a crown prince. This is already taking care of you."

The biggest risk for a princess consort in the Tang Dynasty was not that the princess found a lover, but that he was often involved in politics, which could even lead to the princess consort's property being confiscated and his family being exterminated.

Zheng Zhide thought his words were a comfort to Zheng Hao, but he didn't expect Zheng Hao to be irritated and immediately cursed:
"If it weren't for my status as a royal consort, I would have already become the prime minister!"

"Not only have I lost my position as prime minister, but I am also childless at the age of nearly 40. I have to endure the temper of the nanny in the princess's mansion all day long. Is she trying to make me childless?!"

Despite being the top scholar in the imperial examination and coming from a family of the fifth highest rank, he was still not a prime minister until he was nearly forty years old, and he didn't even have any children of his own.

How could Zheng Hao not be angry when thinking about what he had experienced?

If he had married the daughter of the Lu family back then, he would probably have been the prime minister and ruled the country for a long time now.

Zheng Zhide saw that Zheng Hao was angry, and apart from sighing, he didn't dare to say anything to comfort him.

He was timid and cowardly, otherwise he would not have agreed to the marriage between Zheng Hao and the princess after just a few words from Bai Minzhong.

He knew that Zheng Hao had a grudge against him, but he was helpless because his family was being targeted by the royal family.

"Don't say these things in the future. Be careful, there are ears on the other side of the wall."

Zheng Zhide spoke carefully, but Zheng Hao was angry and directly opened the window and shouted to the outside:
"What do you want to hear? I'll tell you!"

"What are you doing?!" Zheng Zhide was frightened and quickly stepped forward to close the window, looking at him with dismay:
"Do you want me to go with you?"

"I have never thought of this before." Zheng Hao clenched his hands, took a few deep breaths and said:

"It's late, Aye, go back and rest."

Seeing Zheng Hao's appearance, Zheng Zhide could only sigh, then shook his head and walked out of his yard.

After he left, Zheng Hao was too exhausted to sit on the couch and didn't even have the mood to drink.

He sat on the couch for a long time, until he heard footsteps outside the house, and then he turned his eyes to the door.

"My dear, someone has asked me to give this to you. Please enjoy it."

"come in!"

Hearing what was said outside the house, Zheng Hao just thought that someone was giving him another gift.

As he finished speaking, the door was pushed open and a servant in his thirties walked into the house, holding a document wrapped in oil paper and a heavy bag.

"It's Goro..."

Zheng Hao sighed, looked at his former servant, and then looked at the thing in his hand.

"My dear, here are ten ounces of gold. They are the bribes given to me by an outsider in the East Market during the day."

"I will not accept this copy, but this person asked you to keep this copy. If I give it to you, you will surely be delighted."

“That’s why I accepted these things.”

Wu Lang explained the whole thing honestly. Zheng Hao frowned when he heard it, then said in a relaxed tone: "Just accept the gold. Your wife gave birth to a child the other day, so I will use this as a gift."

"Yes……"

Wu Lang agreed, then put away the gold and handed the document wrapped in oil paper to Zheng Hao.

Zheng Hao opened it, but his mind was not on this. Instead, he asked, "Miss Lu, how are you these days..."

"It's still the same as before, not married yet." Wu Lang said with his head down. Zheng Hao felt uncomfortable after hearing this.

He and Lu were childhood sweethearts, but Lu was seven years younger than him.

Now I am nearly forty years old, and Mrs. Lu is thirty-two years old.

She has not married yet, but I married the princess...

Thinking of this, Zheng Hao felt a little sad.

Just at this moment, the oil paper was opened and the Chinese book inside was taken out and opened by him.

He was originally still feeling sad, but as the book was opened, his attention was completely focused on the contents of the book.

He opened his eyes wide and kept flipping through the documents: "This is..."

"My husband, what's wrong?" Wu Lang looked at his husband's excited expression and asked in confusion.

Zheng Hao did not answer, but just kept flipping through the documents.

Soon, he closed the book and laughed loudly, "Well, well, well... you old dog have come to this day!"

He turned around and looked at Wu Lang, his eyes gleaming: "Prepare the car! I want to go to the palace to see the emperor!"

"Yes!" Wu Lang didn't know what happened, but he knew that his husband had not been so happy for a long time.

He quickly sent someone to prepare a car, and Zheng Hao also went to the Daming Palace overnight.

Although the wind was cold, Zheng Hao outside Jianfu Gate was in a hot mood, holding the book tightly in his hand.

Soon, Jianfu Gate slowly opened, and Zheng Hao walked inside...

(End of this chapter)