Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 4882 It’s all about profit
"Do you think His Majesty has gone mad? What you think and do is simply unbelievable. If you continue like this, things will be very bad! Erlang, you are His Majesty's close minister. Although we cannot expect you to be a loyal minister like Wei Zheng, you still need to advise on some things. Otherwise, if something goes wrong, you will be described as a treacherous person in the history books."

After coming out of Taiji Palace, Li Yuanjia felt more and more that the matter was of great importance. Instead of returning home, he went straight to the Liangguo Mansion in Chongrenfang.

He was a prince and the son-in-law of the Fang family, so it was no big deal even if someone knocked on the door in the middle of the night. The doorman welcomed him in and went to the inner house to report. Princess Gaoyang still wanted to avoid suspicion and did not come out to meet him late at night. Fang Jun climbed up from the bed, casually put on a robe and came out to meet the guest.

After sitting in the main hall for a while, Fang Jun had some wine and food prepared for a midnight snack, then moved to the flower hall to make tea and chat.

The glass dome is covered with a thick quilt, and three layers of glass on the south side ensure maximum temperature preservation. Outside the glass, heavy snow like reed catkins falls down, and under the light of lanterns, it is dyed with a light orange color, making Huating warm like spring.

As soon as they sat down and Fang Jun made tea, Li Yuanjia couldn't help but complain non-stop.

Fang Jun didn't take it seriously. He calmly brewed and poured tea, then took a sip of tea and asked with a smile, "Just for such a small matter, why did you break into the mansion in the middle of the night and prevent people from sleeping?"

Li Yuanjia stared, "Is this a small matter? This is a huge matter! Your Majesty not only slandered the achievements of Emperor Taizong, but also wanted to change the law. If we can't stop it, it will cause chaos in the world and unrest in the country. As a minister, how can we not think of giving advice and remain indifferent?"

"Don't be so angry. Come on, drink some tea to moisten your throat. I won't sleep tonight and will chat with Your Highness. Hey, brewing tea and having a long chat on a snowy night is really a good mood. It's a pity that Your Highness is not a woman, otherwise it would be a story of love between a man and a woman, which would be a good story. Tsk tsk, what a pity."

Li Yuanjia snorted and drank his tea without refutation of Fang Jun's teasing.

He knew it was very presumptuous of him to visit in the middle of the night, but his brother-in-law, whose status, achievements and power were far superior to what they were before, got up from the bed and accompanied him for dinner, tea and chat without any resentment, with a pleasant and calm face. This was already an "honor" that he had never dared to ask for in the past.

Five years ago, if he dared to come to the door in the middle of the night, this brother-in-law would have beaten him out with a stick...

At midnight, everything was silent. Heavy snow fell outside the flower hall, and soon the ground was covered with a thick layer of snow. The hall was warm like spring, and all kinds of rare flowers and trees were thriving and green. Occasionally, a few exotic flowers and plants bloomed, and the fragrance was fragrant.

Fang Jun threw a pine cone into the small red clay stove, scooped a ladle of spring water into the kettle, and then placed the kettle on the stove. The gentle flames licked the bottom of the pot.

"It's not surprising that your Majesty has such a mentality. A crown prince who has been repeatedly questioned finally ascended the throne, but there are still many people in the world who attack and slander him, thinking that he is not good at this or that and has no character and ability to be a monarch... If you put yourself in your shoes, you should understand the pressure your Majesty is carrying."

As the eldest son of Emperor Li II, Li Chengqian, who has shouldered all expectations since childhood, is an extremely proud person. This is understandable. Anyone in that position with such a bright future would be proud and look down on the world.

But when endless doubts came overwhelming him like a mountain, pressing down on him and making him breathless, the torture to his mind was incomparable and devastating.

Historically, Li Chengqian could not withstand it and eventually collapsed and fell into the abyss.

Although he has now withstood the pressure and finally ascended the throne, the attacks and slanders have already left an indelible mark in his heart. As proud as he was in the past, he is now as conceited as he was now.

He urgently needs to fight back, to fight back against all those who attack and slander him.

What are the means of counterattack?
Instead of brutal suppression and bloody massacre, he announced to the world with a benevolent and generous attitude that he was an emperor who was not much worse than Emperor Taizong, and was even better and surpassed him in some aspects.

But he knew he could not do better than Emperor Taizong, so what should he do?

Since we can't reach the other party's level, then we should pull him down. Fortunately, although His Majesty Li II has made great achievements and unparalleled military achievements and can be called "the greatest emperor in history", he has too many negative materials. It is not difficult to pull him down by grabbing some of them...

Li Yuanjia was worried: "A son should not criticize his father's faults. Even if the father has made many mistakes, how can a son criticize him? Since ancient times, the emperors have ruled the world with filial piety. If Your Majesty violates filial piety, won't you be criticized and slandered by the people of the world?"

Fang Jun said calmly: "In any matter in the world, you must pay before you can gain. As long as you weigh the cost and gain and can bear the consequences in the end, there is nothing wrong with it."

Li Yuanjia frowned: "Why do you support His Majesty so much?"

Fang Jun was helpless: "How could I support him? It's just that His Majesty is already a bit paranoid at the moment, how can he just rely on one person's opposition? I have repeatedly advised him not to play with fire and to immediately eliminate all hidden dangers, but he ignored all my advice and even became dissatisfied with me and gradually alienated me. I can't do anything about it."

"Your Majesty trusts you so much, how could he not even listen to you?"

"You are a descendant of the royal family, how could you not know what an emperor is? He is the supreme ruler of the world, and all lands belong to him. He thinks he is the son of heaven, the ruler of the world, and has the power of life and death over billions of people... But now the power of life and death has been restricted, and he thinks I am the culprit. If it weren't for my merits in supporting him to ascend the throne and our old friendship, I'm afraid he would have banished me thousands of miles away to the border to live with the barbarians."

Fang Jun shook his head and sighed.

This is where his conflict with Li Chengqian lies. Judging from what he experienced in later life, "absolute power will only lead to absolute corruption." The fundamental reason why the dynasty could not survive the 300-year limit, apart from land annexation and political monopoly, the biggest drawback was the autocracy of imperial power. Restricting imperial power was a necessary measure.

But from Li Chengqian's perspective, the emperor is the son of heaven and the master of the world, so he must have the power of life and death. He is the only one in the world and anyone who restricts the imperial power is his enemy.

Li Yuanjia was silent for a while, then sighed: "Imperial power is a double-edged sword, with sharp edges on both sides. It can hurt others as well as oneself, but generally speaking, it is still necessary to limit imperial power."

Although he was a member of the royal family, he also agreed with Fang Jun's ideas. It was extremely irresponsible to believe that the rise and fall of the empire depended on the king alone, and that the prosperity or decline of the world depended on the king's wisdom or stupidity.

A stable power institution representing the interests of all parties in the empire should check and balance the imperial power. Any national decision should first depend on the interests of all parties and should be implemented after weighing the interests of all parties. This can maximize the interests of the empire.

Because to a certain extent, the interests of the empire are the interests of these forces. When the empire is strong and prosperous, the interests of all forces will rise. On the contrary, when the empire declines and falls, the interests of all forces will suffer...

The military, civil officials, common people, even aristocratic families and clans can all compete with each other and gain benefits in this power institution. However, these benefits come from the suppression and division of imperial power. The extra benefits gained by various forces are the loss of imperial power.

Therefore, all of Li Chengqian's actions at the moment were purely driven by the instinct of a king - he had already felt the danger of the imperial power being suppressed and divided, so he was struggling and resisting with all his might and at all costs.

Do whatever it takes.

Fang Jun took a sip of tea and said slowly: "The power of the country cannot be concentrated in one person. A stable power institution that represents the interests of all parties can promote various national policies through compromise, struggle, and brainstorming. Only in this way can the development of national interests be promoted in the long run. This is beyond doubt. We should strive for this and cannot let the imperial power override the national interest."

At certain times, autocratic power can unify national resources to unleash unparalleled power, but more often than not, autocratic power will only bring corruption.

When the empire is unified and the four seas are in submission, the destructiveness of power tyranny will be infinitely magnified. The lesson of Emperor Yang of Sui is not far away. The wise men of the Tang Dynasty have already realized the danger. The prosperous and prosperous Sui Dynasty collapsed rapidly because of Emperor Yang of Sui's unrestrained large-scale construction and wars...

The root cause of all these problems lies in the autocratic imperial power.

Li Yuanjia smiled bitterly and said, "But if this happens, the backlash from the imperial power will be extremely fierce. After all, it is the most powerful force in the world."

Fang Jun said leisurely: "So let's step back and let others take over and bear the backlash."

"Li Shenfu?"

"He is the most senior and experienced person in the clan, and has made many contributions. He is a suitable candidate. Moreover, he has a group of descendants who support him and can withstand a lot of attacks."

"But...it's still very dangerous."

Li Yuanjia was worried.

Fang Jun raised his eyebrows and said, "Since it was your Majesty's own choice, all the consequences will naturally be borne by him. Even if those people succeed in the end, who can he blame? He is unwilling to fight us head-on, and chose to push Li Shenfu and others to destroy the existing system and attempt to restore the previous situation of imperial autocracy. He must bear unpredictable consequences."

This is the main contradiction between the various forces at present.

Li Chengqian was dissatisfied with the continuous weakening of imperial power, but he did not dare to face the interest alliance formed by the court and the military. Therefore, he chose to find another way and use another force to disrupt the current situation.

Li Shenfu and others were unwilling to see their interests being squeezed again and again, so they chose to face the challenges head-on and risk the world's condemnation.

As the current vested interests, the Grand Council and the Council of State Affairs are sitting back and watching the fight between two tigers.

Who will kill the deer is unknown.