Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 4982 Dominate the world
At first, Princess Gaoyang was a little dissatisfied with her husband's decision to ask Mei Niang to go to Luoyang to manage the business. Although Mei Niang had already demonstrated extraordinary business skills and management abilities, she was a weak woman after all, and it was inappropriate for her to travel a long distance to Luoyang and show up in public.

The gossip in the market never stops, all kinds of unpleasant things...

But when Mei Niang went to Luoyang, she not only did not encounter any difficulties, but instead seemed to be in her element and was very proud of herself. Princess Gaoyang began to feel confused.

Men are respected and women just depend on men for their lives. Why don't you just stay at home and enjoy the wealth and glory instead of worrying about those things?

Now looking at Mei Niang's face full of anticipation and excitement, Princess Gao Yang could only sigh that everyone has their own aspirations.

Mei Niang might be the eagle in the sky, destined to soar into the sky and flap her wings. If she were trapped in the red mansion, she would become depressed and frustrated.

……

"Erlang, someone outside sent this."

Butler Fang Fu hurried over and handed Fang Jun a ball of paper.

Fang Jun frowned and took it, unfolded it and took a look, then asked, "Where is the person?"

"left already."

"Well, nothing to worry about. Go down and help Mei Niang pack her luggage. Nothing can go wrong."

"Here."

Fang Fu left and Fang Jun came to the table, put down the teapot, picked up the fire starter next to the candlestick and blew it out, watched the paper curl up and burn into ashes due to the flame, clapped his hands, sat on the chair, frowned and thought.

Wu Meiniang's eyes sparkled with a hint of worry: "But what's the matter?"

Fang Jun shook his head: "It's not a big deal. Our Majesty is a little bit lonely and wants to make some waves."

Princess Gao Yang was shocked: "What happened?"

Fang Jun patted the back of her hand, smiled and consoled her, "It's nothing, probably because your Majesty feels that his authority has been violated and he is a little restless."

Wu Meiniang was quick-witted. After a brief thought, she asked tentatively, "Is it about the war report sent to the capital by the navy?"

"Yes."

"That's no wonder..." Wu Meiniang suddenly realized, "The navy did go too far. A small-scale conflict would be fine, but going to war with a powerful country on their own initiative, how can Your Majesty tolerate this?"

Suddenly she felt something was wrong, her eyes narrowed slightly, she looked at her husband, and said hesitantly, "Could it be that my husband did this on purpose?"

No one knows better than her how much control the navy has over it. The navy is fighting a fierce battle with the Arab navy at the port of Shilof. They may not go to Chang'an to report to His Majesty and obtain the imperial edict, but how could they not inform the de facto commander-in-chief?
Or maybe this was a move that had been planned long ago...

Fang Jun looked helplessly at the beautiful, intelligent woman in front of him, and sighed, "It is easy to know, but difficult not to speak. To know but not to speak is the way of heaven; to know and to speak is the way of man. To see through but not to speak is a very profound state."

This statement may seem profound, but in fact it is just a cover-up for embarrassment.

As expected of a master at playing mind games, in front of her, Fang Jun felt helpless and unconcealed, as if all his thoughts, schemes and plans were exposed in those eyes that were as bright as autumn water.

Wu Meiniang twitched the corner of her mouth, and realizing her husband's embarrassment, she showed a half-smile and said "hmm" tenderly as a response.

The note just now must have come from the palace. His Majesty had just made a decision, and my dear received the news...

Her husband had big plans, and that was exactly what she liked.

How can a man live in the world without being muddle-headed and without striving for progress? He must always have lofty aspirations and lofty ambitions to live up to his life.

Seeing that her husband actually began to challenge the imperial power and was so "promising", she was naturally happy.

Princess Gao Yang was puzzled and said in dissatisfaction, "Can you two speak more clearly and stop playing dumb?"

Although I have never envied Mei Niang's wisdom, nor am I jealous of the tacit understanding between Mei Niang and her husband, I can't appear too stupid, right?

Jin Shengman also nodded solemnly and agreed: "We are a family, so we can't exclude the two of us."

She did not admit that she was stupid, but instead emphasized that these two people were "pretending to be mysterious."

Princess Gaoyang looked at Jin Shengman approvingly, pulled her little hand, and united the front.

Wu Meiniang laughed and said in a tender voice, "It's not that I don't want to say it, but didn't you hear my husband teaching me? 'Knowing but not speaking is the will of heaven.' If I rely on my intelligence and dare to talk nonsense, it would be against heaven. I dare not accept such a serious crime."

With a very light move, she removed herself from the opposing camp, leaving her husband alone on the other side...

Fang Jun: "..."

Facing the unfriendly looks from Gao Yang and Jin Shengman, he was at a loss whether to laugh or cry.

Madam Wu not only had unparalleled wisdom in the court, but also had the best palace fighting skills. She easily united the women and isolated him...

"It's just some changes in the court. There are pros and cons. It's not a big deal."

It's not that I intentionally concealed it, but I felt a little guilty for mentioning my thoughts on imperial power in front of Gao Yang...

Of course, it’s really not a big deal.

Even if Li Chengqian had not realized the decline of imperial power due to the navy's self-determination, he would have realized the importance of separation of powers and checks and balances sooner or later, because not only did the military power have a tendency to break free from the reins, but even the civil servants whom he believed to be staunch supporters would pose a threat to imperial power.

Why did the position of "Prime Minister" gradually disappear in history?
The reason is very simple: his power is too great and it threatens the imperial authority, that's all.

But the key to the problem is not the position of "prime minister". Whenever power is concentrated to a certain extent, it will pose a threat to the imperial power, no matter whether the position is called "prime minister" or "prime minister", or "shangshu pushe", "zhongshuling" or "shizhong"...

How to balance power and make it difficult to concentrate it?

The best way is to set up a temporary official position, which has corresponding power but not too big. The emperor can appoint and dismiss the official at will and decide whether to keep or leave the position. Everything is in the hands of the emperor. This not only enhances the influence of the civil service group and increases the power to counter the military, but also limits the power of the prime minister, killing two birds with one stone.

Therefore, the official position of "Tongzhongshumenxia Pingzhangshi" would definitely appear with the development of the empire, this is inevitable.

As for lowering the status of "Shangshu Zuo Pushe" to below the prime minister, Fang Jun didn't care.

The military and politics should not be mixed together. Now the two big men in the military serve as the left and right servants respectively, which is extremely unreasonable for the power structure of the Council of State. Fang Jun does not need such a prime minister status to exert his influence on the Council of State.

The policy of the empire has been determined. Although Liu Li is fighting for power, he does not deny the current national policy. It can be said that the whole country is working together and striving for "reform and strengthening". As for internal power struggles, they are inevitable.

He only needs to firmly control the military power and safeguard the "reform and strengthening".

If someone wants to deviate from the route, we will turn him back. If he can't be turned back, we will knock him down with a stick...

Your Majesty has to be tolerant since you have the military power in your hands.

Of course, this was also what His Majesty intended, using such tough tactics to express his anger and make Fang Jun and Li Ji give up and retreat.

Instead of adopting a relatively mild attitude, he could have avoided Fang Jun and Li Ji's failure to compromise, which would have ultimately led to a rift between the monarch and his subjects.

*****
On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the Lantern Festival, a festive atmosphere filled the city of Chang'an. Although the royal family did not organize any celebratory programs and the lanterns of previous years had been cancelled because Emperor Taizong had not yet ended his mourning period, there were not many restrictions on the common people.

Chen time, government hall.

Although this is the center of the empire, the office atmosphere is very relaxed. Li Chengqian sits in the middle of the main hall, with the prime ministers lined up on both sides, and a group of people involved in government affairs sit behind the prime ministers. The place is orderly, with different heights, but everyone is gathered together and can speak freely.

Li Chengqian didn't like this relaxed atmosphere, because it made the emperor and his subjects close to each other and their auras intertwined, making it difficult for the emperor's authority to be fully demonstrated. He could only rely on his own majesty to intimidate his subjects, which was not his forte...

But this was the system established by Emperor Taizong during his lifetime. Even if he was dissatisfied with it, he did not have the prestige to change or abolish it.

The emperor and his ministers took their seats and Liu Li presided over the meeting. He went straight to the point and announced that Pei Huaijie, Liu Xiangdao, Tang Jian, Cui Dunli, Su Dingfang and Cheng Yaojin would be appointed as "co-ministers of the Secretariat". He also proposed that the Zuo Wuwei stationed in Guzang City be transferred back to Guanzhong and stationed in Liquan County to supervise the renovation and reconstruction of Zhaoling Mausoleum.

Since Li Chengqian was determined to enhance the influence of the Council of State with a tough stance, he did not hesitate and spoke his mind directly without consulting anyone and read the imperial edict through Liu Li's mouth.

According to the Tang Dynasty system, the Secretariat drafted the imperial edict and the Ministry of Personnel reviewed it. After Liu Li read it out, he looked at Ma Zhou. Although Ma Zhou frowned, he did not refute. He nodded and said in a deep voice: "I second the motion."

In this way, the decree was implemented.

The officials in the hall were stunned. There was no chance for them to object. The rice was cooked and the wood was made.

Li Chengqian sat in the middle and looked at Li Ji and Fang Jun, who were the leaders on his left and right respectively: "My dear ministers, do you have any objections?"

Everyone looked at the two of them, realizing that His Majesty did this on purpose in order to strike a blow against the "arrogance" of the two.

The decree has already been passed, so why bother asking the two if they have any objections?
But I have to ask.

Li Ji said calmly: "Your Majesty is the master of decisions and your words are followed by laws. All the people in the world follow your lead."

This sentence is very interesting: It doesn’t matter whether I have any objections or not, Your Majesty can do whatever you want, and I will follow your orders.

To put it bluntly, I still have objections, but I won’t say them.

Everyone looked at Fang Jun again.

Generally speaking, once the imperial edict was implemented, even if there were objections, they would be kept in mind, or not spoken, or spoken in private at a suitable opportunity, such as Li Ji.

But Fang Jun did raise an objection...