The Bad Guys: Playing the Fake Li Xingyun at the Beginning

Su Ming seemed not to hear his hidden meaning and smiled slightly, "The more capable, the more work. I am relieved that Prince Xue is here in the Secretariat."

As Li Cunli made his move, he said, "Alas, it's not the end of the year yet. If the Ministry of Rites can negotiate with the Khitan and sign an alliance, the Secretariat may have to stay busy."

Chapter 74: The Rabbit Dies and the Fox Grieves, the Situation Is Over

"Isn't it a good thing that the Secretariat is busy?" Su Ming put down his piece and looked at him meaningfully.

Li Cunli smiled awkwardly and did not respond to the conversation. The busy Secretariat was actually dividing the power of the six ministries. Or it could be said that it was not a division of power, but taking back the power that should have belonged to the Secretariat.

Li Siyuan's base was on the Three Departments, the Privy Council and the Six Ministries. The Secretariat restored its functions, which in a sense restricted the Three Departments and the Six Ministries to varying degrees, so that their official documents and decrees had to be implemented through the Secretariat.

Of course you can choose not to go through, but if you do so and are discovered, you will be caught and the result will be more trouble than gain.

The imperial court now has its own rules and regulations, and everyone is subconsciously maintaining these rules and acting within the rules. Even Li Siyuan has not done anything that would be criticized. With the title of King of Jin and the position of general, he has the right to participate in politics and make decisions, so even if he seizes power, others can't say anything.

Su Ming stroked the chess piece in his hand, feeling the touch of jade from his fingertips. "Don't worry, the peace talks with Khitan will not succeed. It will be enough for you to finish the work of the Secretariat."

Li Cunli was shocked and looked at Su Ming in disbelief. He did not expect that Su Ming would come up with such a conclusion. "Your Majesty, why do you say that? Wasn't it clearly written in the letter submitted by Khitan?"

Su Ming sneered and said in a deep voice, "Some things can be written down, but some things cannot be written down, or even put into the open. Do you really think that the Khitan will give the court such generous conditions for my sake?"

Sure enough, there is another hidden story behind this matter.

When Su Ming easily handed over the initiative of the matter to Kong Xianwen in the court, Li Cunli felt something was wrong at the time, but he was not the one in power and did not understand the way of thinking of Li Siyuan and others, so he did not see the clues clearly.

Now that Su Ming said this, he immediately understood.

It turns out that the peace talks will not succeed at all. Wouldn't Kong Xianwen and his companions have made a wasted trip?

Thinking of the public opinion in Luoyang City, Li Cunli couldn't help but shudder. Kong Xianwen was being praised so highly now. When he returned to Luoyang after the peace talks failed, wouldn't he be cursed by thousands of people!

The higher you are praised now, the harder you will fall in the future.

Wait, does Li Siyuan know about this?

Soon, Li Cunli figured out the key. If there was anyone who could save Kong Xianwen now, it would be Li Siyuan. However, whether Li Siyuan was willing to help was still an unknown.

However, Su Ming seemed to have guessed his thoughts and said slowly, "Li Siyuan had already seen through this matter."

what!

Li Cunli was very shocked. Kong Xianwen was the Minister of Rites of the imperial court. He had secretly helped Li Siyuan when Li Cunxu was alive. So after Li Cunxu's death, Kong Xianwen naturally became the Minister of Rites.

Unexpectedly, Li Siyuan would abandon such a subordinate.

At this moment, Li Cunli couldn't help but think of himself. Kong Xianwen, a minister of six ministries, could be abandoned, so what about him?

After all, he was just doing some dirty work for Li Siyuan in Tongwenguan, and his only identity was also taken away from him. So, was he still worth using in Li Siyuan's eyes?

For a moment, Li Cunli couldn't help feeling sad for the other party.

Seeing his expression, Su Ming smiled faintly and did not continue to flatter him. He just wanted to stop at the right time. Too much is as bad as too little. He needed to figure out the reason behind this himself.

Since Li Cunli wanted to be a fence-sitter, Su Ming would break his fantasy and put Li Siyuan's true face in front of him, letting him consider everything for himself.

It is about to be a showdown with Li Siyuan. Su Ming will not allow him to be a fence-sitter anymore. He either has to be his enemy and be attacked indiscriminately, or he has to join him. He will never let him have his cake and eat it too.

Having said that, there is no need to say more. As for this game of chess, it has lost its interest. Li Cunli played chess in a daze. After only a few moves, he resigned and admitted defeat and said goodbye to him.

Su Ming did not try to persuade him to stay. "Little Li, please help me send Prince Xue off."

Outside the main hall, Eunuch Li, who was wearing a blue eunuch uniform, had been waiting here for a long time. He smiled happily when he received Su Ming's order, "I obey your command."

He walked up to Prince Xue, extended his hand and invited him, "Your Highness Prince Xue, please come in."

"Thank you, father-in-law."

As he spoke, Li Cunli calmly dropped a golden bean on the ground, regained his composure, and acted as if nothing had happened.

The smile on Eunuch Li's thin and fair face became even more intense. He liked people like Li Cunli. Almost every time he entered the palace, he could get a golden bean from the other party. Therefore, even when it was not important, he was still willing to get close to this person.

Afterwards, the two men stepped out of the hall. He knew that there were many of Li Siyuan's spies in the palace, so he had to be cautious.

······

Yanmen Pass.

When the court negotiation officials arrived, the letter from the Tang Dynasty was quickly delivered to the Mobei royal court.

The Khitans were not ambiguous and directly sent Han officials from the royal court to negotiate. After all, when it comes to playing tricks, the Han people are better, especially the officials, who are extremely cunning.

They did show respect for the Tang Dynasty on the surface, but unfortunately, Su Ming did not agree to Yelu Abaoji's request for marriage, and this peace talk was doomed to be in vain.

Yelu Abaoji did not take the matter seriously, and the other tribes in the Mobei royal court took it even less seriously. In their opinion, it would be more refreshing to go south to forage for food than to negotiate with the people of the Central Plains.

They could just rob whatever they needed, at no cost at all. The Tang Dynasty's border troops couldn't catch up with them anyway, so why go to so much trouble?

However, Kong Xianwen and others were still in the dark about all this and were looking forward to the arrival of the Khitans to negotiate with them.

A few days later, the Khitans arrived and began negotiations outside Yanmen Pass.

As soon as they came up, they proposed a request for marriage with the Central Plains. As expected, this was rejected by Kong Xianwen and others. They were disciples of Confucianism, so how could they be willing to let a woman from a foreign race become their queen? If they agreed, they would become sinners of the court and be cursed by the world.

The Khitans' request was rejected, and the subsequent peace talks fell through instantly. The information and clauses prepared by Kong Xianwen and his team were completely useless. Even though they gave up considerable interests, the Khitans simply ignored them.

On the night after coming into contact with the Khitans, Kong Xianwen became so angry in the camp that he vomited blood and fainted on the spot. Fortunately, there was a doctor accompanying the team who rescued him.

But everything is irreversible and the situation is over.

At this point, Kong Xianwen has realized that this peace talk is simply a trap.

Chapter 75 Kong Xianwen's Death

In the tent, a copper lamp was burning with candlelight, and lying on the soft couch was an old man with white hair and beard. His old face was full of wrinkles, his complexion was sallow, and his body was haggard, as if he was seriously ill.

Kong Xianwen's eyes widened with resentment. After a long while, he slowly uttered, "Li Siyuan, you are so cruel!"

At this moment, he still didn't understand.

The moment he left Luoyang, he had become an abandoned pawn.

After leaving the court that time, he went to the Prince of Jin's Mansion to pay a visit, but Li Siyuan did not see him. At that time, he was concentrating on the peace talks and did not pay much attention to it. Now thinking about it, Li Siyuan had already given up on him at that time.

Otherwise, with the power of the King of Jin, he could have completely quelled the rumors in Luoyang and sent troops to contact the Khitan in advance. In that way, he would not have to fall into this quagmire and find it difficult to extricate himself.

At this time, Kong Xianwen had even imagined how he would be cursed when the news of the failure of the peace talks reached Luoyang, and that those who had previously placed him on a pedestal would surely betray him.

The peace that the Tang Dynasty and Khitan had finally achieved was destroyed in his hands. He failed the trust of the court and the expectations of the people...

At this point, he did not hate Su Ming, because he was the one who jumped into the pit. On the contrary, he hated Li Siyuan now, because he saw him fall into the pit, but turned a blind eye, completely disregarding their original friendship.

"Li Siyuan..."

Kong Xianwen's eyes widened, he became more and more angry, and finally died with a cry of unwillingness.

Similarly, Yan Suchen also suffered a great blow. He looked extremely old overnight, like a candle in the wind. His life was in danger. He, like Kong Xianwen, was in his seventies.

He sat under a solitary lamp, his expression blank.

I thought I could share some credit with Kong Xianwen, leave my name in history, and retire with a good story. But now, forget about retiring with a successful career, and it is a luxury to retire unscathed.

If it weren't for the rumors in Luoyang City, they wouldn't have been deified, let alone been forced into a desperate situation without any chance of recovery.

At this time, a clerk rushed in in a panic, "Sir, Master Kong is gone."

Yan Suchen hadn't reacted yet and asked in confusion, "Gone? Where did he go?"

The clerk had a sad face and said in a sad voice, "Sir, Master Kong has passed away."

Yan Suchen's body swayed, and he suddenly felt dizzy. He could never have imagined that Kong Xianwen would die here. He propped himself up and forced himself to calm down, "Take me there quickly!"

The clerk also noticed that Yan Suchen looked unwell, so he quickly helped him up and brought him to Kong Xianwen's tent.

There was silence in the tent. The accompanying officials gathered there with sad expressions. Kong Xianwen was lying on the couch, his gray eyes wide open, expressing his unwillingness and resentment. There were spots of blood on the quilt, which was shocking.

Seeing this scene, Yan Suchen felt a surge of blood and felt dizzy. He almost fell to the ground. Fortunately, he was supported by the clerk beside him and he was able to stand. He walked forward, feeling sad.

"Brother Zhuozhen, why do you have to do this? Why do you have to do this?" He whispered, tears streaming down his face.

Yan Suchen never thought that Kong Xianwen would lose his life just because of the failure of the peace talks. A few days ago, they were drinking together at Yanmen Pass, reciting poems and remembering their ancestors.

In less than half a day, they were separated forever.

He stretched out his hand and tried to close Kong Xianwen's eyes. However, Kong Xianwen's eyes closed and opened again several times, as if he was unwilling to close his eyes. Yan Suchen sighed, "Brother Zhuozhen, don't worry. I will take care of this matter. It won't be long before I have to go down to accompany you."

After he finished speaking, Kong Xianwen seemed to have heard it and really closed his eyes.

At this point, it was meaningless to stay here any longer. Yan Suchen looked around and said in a deep voice, "Brother Zhuozhen unfortunately passed away due to illness. I am deeply saddened, but the country is now in a state of emergency, and we cannot leave without permission."

"Tomorrow, I will try to negotiate with Khitan again. If it fails, it means that this negotiation has failed. The dead are the greatest. Later, you will send someone to escort Brother Zhuzhen through the pass and send him back to the Kong family. I will report to the court and ask for mercy for him."

Yan Suchen arranged the subsequent matters in a few words. Kong Xianwen was dead, and Yan Suchen was the highest-ranking official here. Naturally, no one objected to his words. The officials left the camp one after another to prepare for the funeral.

Yan Suchen glanced at Kong Xianwen lying on the couch and suddenly felt bored. If they had known this would happen, they should have retired and returned home when the emperor ascended the throne. Relying on their merits in following the emperor, they could have asked for grace and retired after achieving success.

This time the two of them were just a preview of the struggle in the court. The emperor set a trap for them to fall into, and the Prince of Jin was also dissatisfied with them, so he went with the flow and watched them die. In the end, Kong Xianwen died, and he also lost his integrity and reputation.

It was just a small collision, and the Ministry of Rites was torn to pieces in this struggle. After returning to the court, the emperor would definitely purge them, and then there would be another round of fierce fighting.

But these have nothing to do with him anymore.

······

The news of the failure of the peace talks soon reached Luoyang, but there was no change in the court. After all, Su Ming and Li Siyuan had anticipated this matter, and both sides understood it tacitly, so there would naturally be no fight.

However, outside the government and the public, there was a huge storm.

Just as we had thought before, the lower-class people longed for peace, the merchants longed for peace, and the soldiers hated war. All these factors combined made Kong Xianwen the popular choice.

Now that the peace talks have failed, everyone is worried that this will anger the Khitans. Who knows when those grassland people will move south, and by then the border will be in turmoil, and their lives will be affected.

As a result, the people quickly put the blame on the officials who were on the diplomatic mission. After all, the Ministry of Rites had snatched this mission from the emperor in the first place, and now that the mission has not been done well, who else can they blame but you?

Along with the news of the failure of the peace talks came the death of Kong Xianwen. When Li Siyuan learned of this, he had no reaction. The two chess pieces that he had already given up were not worthy of his attention at all.

However, Su Ming was a little surprised when he heard the news. He didn't expect that Kong Xianwen was actually dead. After the people from the Ministry of Rites came back, he was still thinking about how to deal with them.

After learning of Kong Xianwen's death, Su Ming immediately lost interest in this matter. The dead are the greatest, and his reputation has been ruined. There is no need to pursue a dead person. Moreover, he also changed his mind about the Ministry of Rites' handling of the matter.

Originally, he was planning to completely replace everyone from top to bottom and carry out a major purge to attract Li Siyuan's attention, but now it seems that Li Siyuan may not care much about this matter. After all, he has not caused trouble in the court for a long time.

The Ministry of Rites was already guilty, and now that the peace talks have failed, their crime has been compounded. Li Siyuan has already given up on them, so the best strategy would be to give them a light punishment and a stern warning and win over the hearts of the people.

As a subject, no one likes a tolerant monarch.

Chapter 76 Li Cunli's Decision

The next day, the failure of the peace talks was brought to the court meeting for discussion.