Tang Dynasty, my wife Wu Zetian

Chapter 132: Elders of the Martial Arts Faction

The first day of May is a holiday.

This is the first holiday in the Tang Dynasty since Helu was captured.

Officials took advantage of the holiday to call friends and have a drink and have fun.

Furong Garden was the preferred destination for many officials, and the Qujiang Pond was filled with pleasure boats and music.

The willow pond is also full of talented men and beautiful women who are out for a spring outing.

A pleasure boat floated down the river.

Li Yifu sat at the bow, looking up at the vast, misty river, raised his glass and said with a smile, "Come, Doctor Li, let's drink this cup to the full for our Tang warriors on the front lines."

Sitting opposite him was a middle-aged man, about the same age as him, who was Li Jingxuan, a doctor in the Ministry of Personnel.

Li Jingxuan was one year younger than Li Yifu and was also a veteran figure in the pro-military faction. Like Li Yifu, he was related to the Li family of Zhaojun.

The two are nominally of the same clan, so their personal relationship is closer than others.

Li Jingxuan drank a cup silently, but did not speak, staring at the shore in a daze.

He was aloof by nature, so Li Yifu didn't take it seriously and followed his gaze.

Inside a waterside pavilion, a dozen young men were drinking and chatting. Some were writing poetry, some were painting, and some were playing chess.

Li Yifu laughed and said, "These young gentlemen are quite interesting. Could they be students from the Imperial College?"

Li Jingxuan said in a deep voice: "They are all Jinshi this year."

Li Yifu was slightly stunned. After a closer look, he saw Gao Youdao, Lu Zhaolin and others in the crowd.

"Yes, that's right. He's a newly-minted scholar."

Li Jingxuan said with a cold face, "Minister Li, do you know why there are still so many Jinshi scholars staying in Chang'an?"

Li Yifu's heart trembled, and he said, "Yes, it's already May, and the selection hasn't been completed yet?"

Li Jingxuan said in a deep voice, "This year is the Bingchen year. The imperial examination results were announced at the end of February, and over a hundred people were selected as officials. Now it's May, and the majority of Jinshi candidates still haven't been granted official positions."

Li Yifu's eyes flashed.

Historically, the selection process by the Ministry of Personnel was sometimes slow, but that was when the court had filled its quota of officials.

The emperor is now rectifying the administration of officials, especially the Ministry of Revenue, where almost half of the officials have been dismissed or demoted.

There should be many officials at the local level to fill the vacancies.

As a result, there are so many vacancies in the local area that the selection cannot be delayed for so long.

"Brother Li, what's going on?"

Li Jingxuan looked up at him and said, "Have you heard about Liu Sheng's recent arrest?"

Li Yifu nodded and said, "I heard about it. The charges were vague. They said he kept a dancing girl at home and only cared about having fun, neglecting his official duties, so he was sent to the Dali Temple."

Liu Sheng's case was not made public because it involved Queen Wang.

Li Jingxuan said, "Since this incident, everyone in the Ministry of Personnel is worried. Liu Rengui is already investigating the Ministry of Personnel. Everyone is worried that the Ministry of Revenue incident will happen again. How can they concentrate on their work?"

Li Yifu laughed and said, "The ones who should be worried about are the aristocratic factions. Why should you worry about that?"

Li Jingxuan stared at him and said, "Do you think they didn't investigate me?"

Li Yifu's face turned pale and he asked, "Are they investigating you too?"

Li Jingxuan nodded, poured a glass of wine and drank it all in one gulp.

When Wang was deposed and Wu was enthroned, there was a fierce fight between the aristocratic faction and the pro-military faction.

The Ministry of Personnel is the territory of the aristocratic families.

In order to gain the upper hand in the fight against the aristocratic family faction, Li Jingxuan volunteered to Emperor Gaozong of Tang and entered the Ministry of Personnel.

It is easy to imagine how difficult Li Jingxuan's days in the Ministry of Personnel were.

Li Jingxuan was the tutor to Emperor Gaozong of Tang when he was the crown prince.

Before joining the Ministry of Personnel, his official position was Zhongshu Sheren.

Emperor Gaozong of Tang originally wanted to promote him to the position of Vice Minister of Personnel, but Chu Suiliang strongly opposed it.

Li Jingxuan eventually entered the Ministry of Personnel as a Langzhong.

The official position was equivalent to a decline.

He can be said to have made great contributions to the success of deposing Wang Liwu.

As a result, after Empress Wu came to power, only Li Yifu was rewarded.

The emperor employed upright officials, while pro-military officials were neglected.

The emperor promoted Xu Xiaode to the position of Minister of Personnel, as if he had forgotten this doctor who had worked hard and made great contributions.

Li Jingxuan was already depressed, and now those upright people who had just come to power turned around and started to clean up the Ministry of Personnel, and even investigated him. How could he not be angry?

Seeing that he acquiesced, Li Yifu slammed the table and angrily said, "Your Majesty is only asking them to take this opportunity to clean up the aristocratic factions. Why are they investigating you?"

Li Jingxuan said coldly: "In the eyes of Qingliu, I'm afraid there is no difference between us and the aristocratic factions!"

Li Yifu said, "Don't worry, I will report your case to the Saint."

Li Jingxuan smiled bitterly and said, "Minister Li, the saints only have the pure stream in their eyes now. Do you think it will be useful if you say it?" Li Yifu was stunned and remained silent.

He naturally saw the changes in the saint, and even saw it more clearly.

What the sage is currently employing are not the upright officials, but a group of officials he personally promoted after deposing Wang Liwu.

Liu Rengui, Shangguan Yi, Lu Chengqing, Di Renjie, Du Zhenglun, etc.

As for the pro-military faction and the aristocratic family faction who fought fiercely when Wang was deposed and Wang was enthroned, they were both ignored by the sage.

Of course, the military faction was treated better than the aristocratic faction, otherwise he would not have become the prime minister.

However, if the situation continued to develop, he would not be able to remain the prime minister for long, which is why he got involved with Empress Wu again.

He was silent for a moment, then said, "Don't worry. The Saint knows all our contributions. I will submit a petition to transfer you out of the Ministry of Personnel and return you to the Secretariat to continue your duties as a secretary."

Li Jingxuan bowed to him and said, "Everything depends on Minister Li."

The next morning, Li Yifu ordered someone to draft an imperial edict, requesting that Li Jingxuan be transferred back to the Secretariat.

However, the imperial edict never reached Ganlu Palace and was rejected by the Ministry of Personnel.

Li Yifu was furious and took the imperial edict to the Secretariat, Liu Rengui's office.

"Prime Minister Liu, you rejected this imperial edict?"

Liu Rengui looked up at him and said, "Not bad."

Li Yifu said, "Please give me an explanation, Prime Minister Liu."

Liu Rengui said in a deep voice, "I am following the orders of the Holy Saint to rectify the administration of officials. It just so happens that there is a case that has been investigated against Doctor Li. I have to wait until the case is concluded before I can be transferred."

Li Yifu said coldly, "Oh, I wonder what Doctor Li has done wrong?"

Liu Rengui bowed and said, "I cannot reveal this matter before the investigation is complete. I hope Prime Minister Li will forgive me."

Li Yifu looked at his sullen face, wishing he could punch him. He gritted his teeth and said, "Did you know that Doctor Li was once the prince's tutor?"

Liu Rengui: "I know."

Li Yifu continued, "Then did you know that Doctor Li was transferred from the Secretariat to the Ministry of Personnel by order of the Sage himself?"

Liu Rengui: "I know."

Li Yifu angrily said, "If you knew, why are you still holding on to him? There are so many people in the Ministry of Personnel, why are you targeting him alone?"

Liu Rengui sighed and said, "Prime Minister Li, please calm down. I am not targeting Doctor Li, but I just happened to find something related to him. I treat all officials of the Ministry of Personnel equally."

Li Yifu sneered and said, "What a fair treatment! Goodbye."

……

Late at night, Changxingfang, a small courtyard on South Street.

A carriage circled the courtyard and arrived at the back door. A woman got out of the carriage. It was none other than Concubine Jiang.

Jiang Shanggong knocked on the door, and soon someone opened it and welcomed her in.

Jiang Shang Gong entered the bedroom and smiled at Li Yifu, who was sitting on the couch, "Why are you so anxious to see me? You're not short of women, are you?"

Li Yifu stood up and pulled her into his arms, saying with a smile, "How can those women compare to you?"

Pieces of clothing were thrown to the ground and the bed began to shake.

After a long time, the vibration finally stopped.

Li Yifu held Lady Jiang in his arms and said, "Yan'er, I need you to do me a favor."

Jiang Shang Gong smiled and said, "I knew it. If there was nothing wrong, you wouldn't be so anxious to find me. Tell me, what's the matter?"

Li Yifu said seriously, "I need you to help me tell the Queen something."

Jiang Shang Gong's smile faded and she asked, "What's the matter?"

Li Yifu then told the story of Li Jingxuan.

"Li Jingxuan worked hard for Your Highness and made great contributions. Now he is being suppressed by the Qingliu. Please save him, Your Highness."

Lady Jiang sat up and began to put on her clothes.

"Mr. Li, I can't do you this favor. It's not that I don't want to, but the Empress doesn't ask about the affairs of the previous dynasty. If I tell her, she might not blame me now, but in the future, when the Saint learns that she interfered in the affairs of the previous dynasty and reprimands her, she will definitely not forgive me."

Li Yifu said, "You can let her know inadvertently."

Jiang Shang Gong turned her head and glanced at her, saying, "That's even worse. You should know how shrewd she is. I dare not play tricks in front of her."

Li Yifu was silent for a while, then sighed, "Yes, I'm putting you in a difficult position. Well, I'll think of another way."

Jiang Shang Gong smiled and said, "I am very grateful that you don't force me. I do have an idea that you can try."

Li Yifu asked hurriedly: "What's the idea?"

Concubine Jiang smiled and said, "Yesterday, Her Majesty the Queen invited Xue Rengui's wife and Su Dingfang's wife into the palace and had a conversation. The Saint heard about it and praised Her Majesty a little."

Li Yifu was such a smart man that he immediately understood what was going on and said, "The sage does not forbid the empress from interacting with ladies outside the palace."

Jiang Shang Gong said, "That's right."

Li Yifu thought about it and nodded, "Okay, tomorrow I will let my wife accompany Li Jingxuan's wife into the palace."

(End of this chapter)