Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 4021 Confrontation between monarchs and ministers
In the early morning of the first day of the new year, the sky was still dark, and the sky was dark and dark like a lead drop. After a while, there were bursts of thunder, and big raindrops poured down. The majestic Chang'an City was shrouded in the rain.

The gate of the square was opened, and a car was not delayed for a moment due to the heavy rain. After leaving the gate of Defang, it followed the confluence of alleys and alleys towards Taiji Palace. In front of Chengtian Gate, officials in red and purple Get out of the car and put up an umbrella, don't care about the rain splashing on your shoes and clothes, and hurried into the palace, heading straight for Wude Hall.

It's just that when the officials arrived at the courtyard in front of Wude Hall, they were all dumbfounded.

Every month on Lunar New Year's Day, a court meeting is held. Officials above a certain level in the capital and all states in the world who have important events will participate, and the number of people is often hundreds.In the past, the place of the Great Court Meeting was Tai Chi Hall. Even though the Tai Chi Hall is grand and spacious, there are still officials who are not of high grade who need to stay outside the hall. Now the Tai Chi Hall is seriously damaged and is being repaired. The Taiji Hall is very small and cramped even for officials of rank four and above. Almost six out of ten officials have to wait outside the hall in the rain...

Fortunately, the servants built a row of simple sheds against the flower walls and eaves outside the hall before dawn. Fortunately, there are many constructions in the Taiji Palace now, and there is no shortage of building materials, so they use wooden sticks as pillars and thin planks as the roof. , Barely sheltered from wind and rain.

A group of officials who were placed in the same place as the parents of the same place snuggled up under the shed, shivering cold and hungry...

……

The Wude Hall is as warm as spring, with sandalwood burning in the corners, dozens of senior officials below the third rank and above are gathered together, rubbing shoulders, their body odors are mixed and intertwined, making it difficult to breathe, and sweating on the forehead after a while.

Fortunately, court meetings like this usually involve His Majesty listening to the performances of governors from all over the country. Occasionally, there are natural disasters that require relief from the court, and rarely deal with specific affairs. After the court meeting, His Majesty will call other ministers to organize a meeting to study and deal with it in detail, so there is no time. will be too long.

But there are hundreds of prefectures all over the world, and the governors and governors have to report their affairs, especially the return of His Majesty from the Eastern Expedition, and the destruction of Goguryeo. It took a full three hours before the court meeting came to an end.

The officials who had nothing to do quickly dispersed and stood under the shed for a long time, their clothes were still wet by the breeze and rain, shivering from the cold, and most of them hadn’t eaten when they got up early. Then hurried back to the mansion to hug the fragrant and pleasant little concubine, eat and drink enough to make up for sleep.

The officials who moved to the side hall to continue the court meeting hurriedly took the time to go straight to the latrine. This is the first time a court meeting is held here in Wude Hall, and there are no corresponding facilities. The latrine is also where the palace people used to relieve their work. The policeman unbuttoned his trouser belt and stood to discharge water. The scene was extremely spectacular.

It's just that I'm not too young, so it's inevitable that some people will get their shoes wet in the wind and rain...

Returning to the side hall, everyone knelt and sat in front of the throne. His Majesty Li Er looked around and cut straight to the point: "The cause of King Jing's death has been investigated by the 'Baiqisi'. As a result, regarding this point, can Duke Yue have anything to say?"

Everyone looked at Fang Jun.

As for the cause of Li Yuanjing's death, who is not well aware of it?Thinking that the East Palace was crumbling under the onslaught of Guanlong and was about to fall, they wanted to copy the back of the East Palace to take advantage of it. Unexpectedly, the right guards were invincible. Even if there were only half of them left, they still defended the Xuanwu Gate under the leadership of Gao Kan. , Li Yuanjing and Chai Zhewei lost their helmets and armor, and they were defeated.

Of course, you will understand His Majesty Li Er's intention to turn black and white and point a deer into a horse after a little thought. He probably doesn't want to involve too much. Otherwise, once it is confirmed that Li Yuanjing's rebellion is confirmed, he will have to dig deeper. It is very likely that the royal family will be affected by it. …

In the current situation, stability is the top priority, and everything is for easy storage.

Fang Jun calmly nodded his head and said: "I am the General of You Tunwei, and I shall bear all the responsibilities of You Tunwei. Although I was fighting fiercely in the Western Regions at that time, I will never shirk my responsibility and accept all punishments willingly. "

His Majesty Li Er choked for a moment.

Even if Li Yuanjing was accidentally killed by the Youtunwei, who made great contributions to protecting the Zhengshuo Empire, Fang Jun even led half of the Youtunwei to fight for thousands of miles, defeating powerful enemies in succession to ensure that the territory was not lost. How could they punish Tianbai Yuzhu and Zijin Liang to frame the sea?

What's more, who doesn't know that Li Yuanjing was defeated and died because of his intention to rebel?
If he forcibly puts the blame on Fang Jun, perhaps no one in the court dares to speak out, but sympathy for Fang Jun will inevitably grow in each other's hearts, especially the East Palace will inevitably share the same hatred...

Thinking of this, he paused slightly.

"Cough cough..." Liu Jie coughed dryly and said, "In my humble opinion, the Duke of Yue is not to blame for this matter. The powerful enemy ensures that not an inch of territory is lost..."

Everyone looked at Liu Ji playfully, they hadn't seen that this guy's kung fu of observing words and demeanor and flattering horses was so proficient...so they were all waiting for his but.

Liu Jie was the focus of everyone's attention, his face was as usual, and his expression was still, he continued: "...But, His Royal Highness King Jing is a prince, so he died in the chaos of the army, how could he not give an explanation? Therefore, I suggest that you It is enough for the Duke of Yue to impose a few punishments, which will not only give the world and the royal family an explanation, but also not make the heroes feel cold."

His Majesty Li Er asked: "In your opinion, how should we punish?"

Liu Jiedao: "You can grant the Duke of Yue the Kingdom of Shangzhu, remove the post of General Youtunwei, and change to the Minister of Rites, and someone else will take the post of General Youtunwei."

A group of ministers looked at the monarch and his ministers, asking and answering, without speaking.

Obviously a well-researched routine...

But it's not bad to deal with it like this.

Everyone knew that His Majesty Li Er had to cut off the wings of the East Palace first if he wanted to be easy to reserve, and Fang Jun was the strongest among the wings of the East Palace, so it was inevitable that he would bear the brunt of it, and it was almost impossible to retain military power.Since the military power will definitely not be able to be retained, it is considered the best result to be appointed Minister of the Ministry of Rites and conferred on Shangzhu Kingdom.

Although the Ministry of Rites is more practical than practical, it is the head of the six in name after all, and the Minister of Rites is only one step away from Zaifu...

His Majesty Li Er looked at the prince: "What does the prince think about this?"

Li Chengqian shook his head, and said respectfully: "Father Emperor Qiangang can be arbitrary, and my son has no objection."

Father's heart is firm, and the more he struggles as a prince at this time, the more he will be severely suppressed by his father. It is better to lie down and let him be at his mercy. Sympathy, guilt, and will not treat Donggong subordinates too harshly.

His Majesty Li Er was very satisfied to see his son so knowledgeable, nodded slightly, and then asked: "Do you have any suggestions for the new General Youtunwei?"

Generally speaking, when officials at the level of the six ministers and the sixteen guards are transferred, they will ask the original chief official's opinion on the successor. If there is not too much deviation, it will be an extremely important reference.But the transfer of Fang Jun this time is to eliminate the military power of the Eastern Palace and cut off the wings of the Eastern Palace. The person recommended by Fang Jun must have a deep relationship with him and is also a person entrained by the Eastern Palace. How can His Majesty Li Er appoint him?

So just pass Fang Jun.

Fang Jun didn't bother to mix in. If the successor was mediocre and incompetent, no matter if he was smart and capable, he was confident that he would completely empty him out, and Youtunwei would still be under his control.

Xiao Yu, who had been silent for a long time, said, "Xue Rengui, the Sima of Anxi Protectorate, is proficient in the art of war and is brave and good at fighting. When the Dashi army invaded the Western Regions before, he led the army to resist. His performance was amazing and he should be competent."

Cen Wenwen also said: "The old ministers agree that Xue Rengui is young and powerful, and has made great military achievements. He should be placed in the capital and cultivated, and he will become a pillar of the empire in the future."

The rest of the ministers remained silent, wondering if these two were going to fall to the East Palace?

The purpose of transferring Fang Jun is to cut off the military power in the East Palace, but Xue Rengui was brought out by Fang Jun, and he obeyed his words. Let Xue Rengui be the General of Youtunwei, how is it different from Fang Jun himself?

This advice will definitely not be adopted.

However, His Majesty Li Er frowned and remained silent...

Liu Ji was also a little depressed.

Even the ministers in the hall could see that it was impossible for His Majesty to appoint Xue Rengui as the General of Youtunwei. Could it be that Xiao Yu and Cen Wenwen couldn't see it?Obviously, the real intention of choosing Xue Rengui, a candidate who would never be adopted by His Majesty, is to give His Majesty a comparison - of course it is okay to disapprove Xue Rengui, but the final candidate must be better than Xue Rengui, right?

Otherwise, how to convince the public?

But here comes the problem...Looking at the entire imperial military, who among the younger generation of generals can overwhelm Xue Rengui in terms of ability and record?
Xiao Yu and Cen Wenwen are not helping the East Palace, they are purely embarrassing His Majesty...

Sure enough, His Majesty Li Er frowned and remained silent.

There was a slight silence in the hall, and Xiao Yu said again: "Your Majesty, the old minister recommended Guo Guogong to take up this position. Guo Guogong is a meritorious service to the empire. Nei Jie is his old department, and he will be able to quickly rectify military affairs and build the defense of Xuanwumen."

His Majesty Li Er narrowed his eyes and glanced at Xiao Yu, this old thing is simply a poisonous snake, specially designed to bite people's vital points.

Before the Eastern Expedition, Guo Guo Gong Zhang Shigui had always been the person he trusted the most, and his level of trust was even higher than that of Cheng Yaojin, Qin Qiong and others. Otherwise, how could he be entrusted with the task of guarding the palace?But before the Guanlong Mutiny, Zhang Shigui openly opened the Xuanwu Gate to let the prince out of the city, and then defended the Xuanwu Gate to resist the Guanlong army, which made his loyalty to Zhang Shigui shaken.

In case Zhang Shigui has completely fallen to the East Palace, and now he is appointed as the General of Youtunwei, wouldn't he wait for the critical moment to stab himself in the back?

However, outsiders don't know about Zhang Shigui's disobedience to his own wishes. Will dismissing Xiao Yu's remonstrance now make Zhang Shigui even more eccentric?And what about the old folks who have stayed true to themselves?
Xiao Yu's remonstrance caused His Majesty Li Er to fall into a dilemma, and one can imagine the annoyance in his heart...

(End of this chapter)