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

The expansion of the draft is both a good thing and a bad thing.

The good thing is that Su Ming can marry with more forces to strengthen himself. The bad thing is that this marriage adds many variables, which may cause unexpected waves and cause unnecessary trouble.

If things go wrong, the marriage may fail and you may even offend those forces.

The importance of this still needs to be carefully considered.

Su Ming glanced at Li Siyuan and smiled faintly, "I'll have to trouble you to focus on these matters. The selection of concubines is the first major event after the new dynasty changes its name. It concerns the country and the people. You, my dear ministers, must do your best and don't let me down."

King Qi held up the tablet and made another memorial, "Your Majesty, if the selection exceeds the budget by a large margin and the imperial treasury does not have enough money, Qi can share some of the burden."

Ren Yuan, the envoy of the Three Departments, was shocked. He had just been looking for an excuse in a hurry, but he didn't expect that the King of Qi would find a weakness in it. Was he going to interfere in the finances of the Three Departments?

What is the budget? How much should be spent? How much has been spent? The three officials have always had the final say. If King Qi shares the money for the selection, the accounts will definitely be checked in the end. What if something is found out...

In just a short moment, Ren Yuan thought a lot and quickly stepped out, "Your Majesty, the selection of concubines is of great importance and is the most important matter for the court. Even if it exceeds the budget, the national treasury can still support it. I appreciate the kindness of King Qi."

There was a hint of pity in King Qi's eyes. If Ren Yuan dared to agree, she would have the opportunity to take a peek at the financial operations of the three departments and take advantage of every opportunity.

Working in finance? How many of them don’t have any tricks?

As long as they want to investigate, they will definitely be able to find out. However, the power of the Three Departments is too great. Even if Su Ming and King Qi join forces, they cannot intervene for the time being. Without a good excuse, they cannot touch the Three Departments at all.

As the saying goes, a teacher has a legitimate reason. This is the reason.

Sitting on the dragon throne, Su Ming laughed heartily. "I am very pleased with the loyalty and patriotism of the King of Qi. In my opinion, there is no need for you to refuse. It is not a bad idea to let Qi share some of the expenses to ease the pressure on the national treasury."

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Siyuan hurriedly stopped him, "Your Majesty, the selection of concubines is a major event for the imperial court. How can we let the local governors contribute funds and share the expenses? Once it gets out, won't the world laugh at our Tang Dynasty for being poor and destitute?"

"I hope Your Majesty will think twice about this matter."

If the King of Qi pays, he, the King of Jin, must also pay as well, otherwise he would be looked down upon, wouldn't he?

Some things have to be done, people fight for a breath of air, Buddhas fight for a stick of incense. Even if these things hurt oneself and benefit others, they have to be done. The King of Jin is a banner, and this banner must be bright and powerful enough to gather people to serve him.

Therefore, in the court, he would not let the Prince of Qi surpass him in influence, and it was even more impossible for him to lose to him in the matter of righteousness. At least on the surface, he, Li Siyuan, wanted to be a "loyal minister and good general."

"Since Prince Jin feels it is inappropriate, let's put this matter on hold for now. As for the selection of concubines, what do you think about in the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Revenue? Feel free to speak your mind." Su Ming did not dwell on this matter, but turned around and asked other people.

"Your Majesty, you just said that the scope of the selection will be expanded and ordinary civilians do not need to be involved. I wonder how the Ministry of Revenue will judge this boundary?"

The person who asked the question was Wang Can, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. He was a smart and capable man and was considered a capable minister.

At this time, Yan Suchen, the Minister of Rites, made the final decision, "A humble family with a lowly surname, poor seedlings and bitter roots, is not qualified to give birth to the bloodline of the Li Tang Dynasty. Lord Wang, I think that the lowest standard for this marriage is to be from an aristocratic family in various places, and count back three generations, at least to have a senior official of the fourth rank or above to be eligible to participate in the assessment."

"Only a woman who is good enough can better pass on the bloodline of the emperor. It is difficult for ordinary families to cultivate a woman who is knowledgeable, virtuous and intelligent."

"The candidates for the empresses of the previous emperors of the Tang Dynasty were all from high-ranking families and aristocratic families. The Ministry of Revenue must carefully consider and select them, and must not disrupt the bloodline of our Tang Dynasty."

"Yes, Lord Yan is right. I second your opinion."

"I second the proposal!"

"I also agree with Lord Yan's idea!"

……

Soon, people from the Qi Wang faction in the court echoed their sentiments, and those neutral ministers also followed suit, occupying the majority of the court. Although Yan Suchen's words were a bit blunt, they were indeed the unspoken rule of selecting emperors in the Tang Dynasty.

Marrying someone of equal social status has been a traditional rule in China for thousands of years. Even if there are exceptions sometimes, they are rare. As the emperor, Su Ming must of course have a queen and concubines that match his status.

If he really married a woman from a humble family as his queen, he would be ridiculed and looked down upon by the people of the world, and even secretly despised by the aristocratic families. In that era, bloodline still had certain advantages, but by the time of the Song Dynasty, the advantages of bloodline had disappeared, and passing down poetry and books from generation to generation was the only truth. Of course, this also gave rise to another force, the academic cliques and schools.

This step was what Li Siyuan wanted to achieve the most. On the one hand, he wanted to prevent Su Ming from gaining more political allies and strengthening his power. On the other hand, he wanted to use marriage to undermine the emperor's reputation and make the people complain and angry.

When the imperial court recruited soldiers from the lower classes, it resulted in tragedy, not to mention the selection of beauties from all over the country to enrich the harem. Su Ming could fully guess that once the scope of the beauties was expanded to the lower classes, there would definitely be chaos.

In order to meet the quota, the officials below would resort to any means. With the name of the court at their disposal, they would certainly resort to any means possible. Countless families will suffer from their crimes.

The worst thing was that the most beautiful women were never enjoyed by him as the emperor. The most outstanding women were all kept for private enjoyment by the officials below. The ones presented to him were all ugly and after layers of screening, it was considered good luck if the remaining beauties were of above-average appearance.

He, the emperor, has to take the blame, while the good fortune is enjoyed by the corrupt officials. Does this make sense?

Although there is a higher probability of beauties coming from wealthy families, the majority of them are from the common people. The most beautiful women are often found among the common people. However, native beauties may be beautiful, but their temperament and conversation are definitely not as good as those of girls from wealthy families. At most, they can be used as vases to please the eye, but have no other value.

Chapter 105 Impossible, absolutely impossible!

In order to prevent such a situation, Su Ming cut off this possibility at the source.

There is no such thing as wanting to ruin my reputation or make me take the blame.

Although it was Li Xingyun's reputation that was ruined, it was Su Ming who was sitting on the dragon throne now.

In the hall, Li Siyuan's face flashed with disappointment. Such a good opportunity was wasted! If the emperor did not restrict him, he would have a hundred ways to throw dirty water on the emperor and ruin his reputation.

It’s a pity that this guy was well prepared!

Li Siyuan glanced at Su Ming inconspicuously and shook his head slightly. This kid didn't look like a young man at all. He looked more like a politician who had been working in the court for many years. His methods were experienced, but flawless, making it impossible for him to find any flaws.

Since the court officials agreed, there was nothing more to say. Su Ming gave the order directly, "Okay, since all of you think this is feasible, then we will set the rules and send official documents to all levels of prefectures, counties and districts, strictly ordering officials to harass the people in the name of the selection. Those who violate the rules will be severely punished."

Sorry, it’s not enough to just set rules, we also need to give preventive measures.

Low-level officials are not only bold enough to fish in troubled waters in the name of the emperor, but they are also very bold. There are such officials in every dynasty, and it is impossible to eliminate them. Therefore, Su Ming can only issue an official document to announce the matter to the world and eliminate most of the possibilities.

As soon as these words were spoken, King Qi immediately bowed and saluted, "Your Majesty is wise!" As the monarch of Qi and the empress of Huanyinfang, how could she not know the intention of Su Ming's order.

There are many poor women in Huanyinfang, and the Nine-Sky Saint Lady beside her comes for this reason. If local officials act recklessly in the name of the emperor, many tragedies will surely happen.

Therefore, King Qi bowed and paid his respects.

Seeing this, other officials also followed suit and saluted, "Your Majesty is wise!"

Seeing this scene, Li Siyuan's eyes became even gloomier and he had the urge to curse. Today's court session was too frustrating. If he had known it would be like this, he might as well have asked for leave and not come.

From the time the emperor ascended the throne until now, he had not been able to gain any advantage over him. Every time there was a fight in the court, he always suffered a loss, although his power had expanded a lot in the past six months.

Li Siyuan always felt unhappy. He was the one who had the upper hand, but why did he always lose? He thought he respected the emperor enough, but he didn't expect that he was so experienced in political schemes, which was beyond his age.

Suddenly, Li Siyuan's heart stagnated and a terrible thought flashed through his mind.

Could it be that Yuan Tiangang is giving him advice behind the scenes?

Then, he felt that this idea was too absurd, impossible, absolutely impossible!

If it was really Yuan Tiangang who was behind this, would I still be standing here?

Li Siyuan was not only afraid of Yuan Tiangang's military power, but also of the bad guys under his command. This was an organization that had been passed down for more than three hundred years, and no one knew how many people there were in this organization, or how many cards and spies it had.

During the battle of Bianliang, the Xuanming Sect directly became a branch of the Bad People. Except for Emperor Ming, all the members of the Xuanming Sect in Bianliang became Bad People. When that news reached his ears, Li Siyuan could still remember how surprised and frightened he was.

Because he didn't know how many people in Tongwenguan were undercover agents of the Bad Guys, and how many of the thirteen sect leaders had defected to the Bad Guys. After this incident, all the princes and vassal states in the world were shocked by this power.

After all, no one wants to have all the Bad People under his command. After that, forces in various places began to investigate themselves, trying to secretly find out the Bad People's spies, but Li Siyuan believed that even if they found out, no one would dare to take action.

There are not just one or two bad guys, who knows how many there are. If we kill one, what if we disturb a hornet's nest?

What's more, Yuan Tiangang is standing behind the Bad Man. If he attracts their attention, it would be even worse.

Therefore, after Yuan Tiangang's death, the Bad People were immediately besieged and hunted down, and their entirety collapsed. No one wanted to see the existence of such a huge force.

Without Yuan Tiangang's suppression, the world would have been in chaos and the Bad People would have no place to survive.

Li Siyuan felt his scalp tingling when he thought of Yuan Tiangang. He erased the thoughts from his mind and stopped thinking about it. The most important thing now was to destroy the marriage between the emperor and the major forces, and other things had to be put aside for the time being.

If the emperor got foreign aid, wouldn't he be even more uncomfortable?

Among the ministers, Li Cunli, the Secretary of the Central Secretariat, who was wearing a scarlet official robe and witnessed the entire court meeting, could not help but admire that only the emperor could make Li Siyuan suffer a setback time and time again.

This reminded him of the scene when Li Siyuan entered Luoyang after Li Cunxu's death. At that time, he became the King of Jin, and he was so high-spirited and arrogant. Now he has such a great advantage, but he is helpless against the emperor, and he is at a loss and even suffers a loss.

My choice was indeed the right one.

The reason why Li Cunli made up his mind to surrender to Su Ming was not only because he was chilled by Li Siyuan's harsh and cold-blooded attitude towards his subordinates, but also because he saw that Li Siyuan suffered losses at his hands.

If the emperor was determined to be a coward and bide his time, Li Cunli might have kept his troops in place and waited and watched.

But Su Ming not only did he get things done, but he also succeeded. This gave him hope. Not only Li Cunli, but other officials did the same.

Keeping a low profile and avoiding the spotlight cannot be said to be a wrong decision, but it cannot be said to be right either, because as time goes by, the enthusiasm of court officials will gradually dissipate, and their confidence will disappear bit by bit.

Su Ming is not a young child who cannot participate in political affairs. He is the emperor and has a legitimate position in the court and can exercise some power. If he does not take any action, wouldn't it show the world that he is afraid of Li Siyuan?

It was Su Ming's actions that led to the current situation step by step. Advantages need to be accumulated bit by bit, and victory is hard-won.

If Su Ming keeps a low profile and does nothing in the court, he dares to guarantee that within three years, everyone in the court will become Li Siyuan's people. By then, if the bad guys do not get involved, it will be truly powerless and irreversible.

……

Qianqiu Palace.

The empress sat on the couch, laughing so hard that her body shook. "You are amazing. Li Siyuan looked very unhappy today. I have fought him for so many years, but this is the first time I have seen him look like this."

Su Ming was sitting nearby, a pleased look on his face. "That old fellow Li Siyuan, besides enduring like a coward, he also knows how to suddenly strike dirty. When it comes to court struggles, his level is really not good enough." There was a strong sense of self-confidence in his words.

At this point, the empress was stunned and asked in surprise, "I remember that you were quite naive before, and people dared not look at you directly. How come you suddenly became so smart now?"

Chapter 106: If Heaven had not given birth to me, the Tang Dynasty would have been like a long night

Su Ming was stunned. Why did she suddenly ask this?

Then he realized that the political tactics he used in the court were too sophisticated and simply not at the level of a young man. Even an old hand like Li Siyuan suffered losses at his hands, so she was confused.

Of course, it was just a doubt, not a suspicion. After spending such a long time together, who would suspect that he was a fake Li Xingyun?

I'm afraid that even Yuan Tiangang didn't expect that after Su Ming hid the truth from Li Xingyun's companions, he would go straight to Luoyang and didn't care about the so-called Longquan treasure at all.

He made his intention clear: either he would help him become emperor, or he would stay in Luoyang and let Li Siyuan completely consume the value of him as a descendant of the Tang Dynasty.

In this world, which prince does not want to carry the "Nebula" to command the princes and occupy righteousness.

Sure enough, after he had been lying in Luoyang for half a month, Yuan Tiangang could no longer bear it and went directly to Li Siyuan to ask him to help him become emperor.

Facing this question, Su Ming smiled casually, "After ascending the throne, I couldn't handle state affairs, so I just stayed in Jixian Hall to read books. When I was in Jianlu before, I read some medical biographies, and now I find those history books quite interesting."

The Empress's eyes widened with disbelief, "So, you learned all those political tactics from books?"

Su Ming spread his hands, an innocent look on his face, "What else? Apart from reading, I can't seem to do anything else."

Upon hearing this, the empress was stunned. Is this what they call a gifted person?

She didn't expect that someone could become enlightened just by reading books, and use political tactics to perfection. Even an old-timer like Li Siyuan was played at his fingertips. It was simply terrifying.

She kept looking at Su Ming as if he were a monster, "Now I suddenly understand why Yuan Tiangang chose you."

Su Ming picked up the teacup on the table and took a sip. The warm and mellow tea melted in his mouth. His expression was calm, without any sadness or joy. "If Heaven had not given birth to me, the Tang Dynasty would have been in darkness forever. It was not Yuan Tiangang who chose me, but I who chose Yuan Tiangang."

The empress chuckled, her eyebrows curved, her beautiful eyes were full of anger and smile, her posture was pleasant, and she said unhappily, "Look at how capable you are, and you are still bragging. If you have the guts, you can say it in front of Yuan Tiangang. When you can deal with Li Siyuan and unify the world, then you can say this."