Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 4992: Counterattack

Liu Li felt that he was probably hallucinating, so he asked Pei Huaijie again to confirm: "What did the Right Prime Minister say just now?"

Pei Huaijie looked calm, but his tone was firm: "No!"

Liu Jie: "..."

Seeing him standing there in bewilderment, Cui Dunli said, "Three to three, half for and half against. This matter should be written by the Minister of the Interior and submitted to Your Majesty for your decision."

Ma Zhou nodded: "It is my responsibility."

……

Even after everyone had dispersed, Liu Li still hadn't come to his senses. Pei Huaijie had always been under his control, so why did he suddenly turn against him?
As for the replacement of the Guangzhou Maritime Customs, he would rather lose the vote than have a three-on-three stalemate and end up before His Majesty. To suppress the military, one must start with the navy, and the best opportunity to suppress the navy is the Maritime Customs. Although this matter was instructed by His Majesty, it is not good to involve His Majesty in it. Once His Majesty directly confronts Fang Jun, it means that the imperial power and the military power are in direct confrontation, and His Majesty will have no room for maneuver.

But now there is trouble. Ma Zhou has written the matter into a document and presented it to the emperor. Your Majesty will not be able to escape even if he wants to, and he will definitely vent his anger on him.

When was Pei Huaijie bribed by Fang Jun and did he turn against him at the critical moment?

The worst thing is that once Pei Huaijie completely stands on the opposite side of him, he will lose control of the Political Affairs Hall and become a prime minister in name only...

Fang Jun is not the prime minister and he will not even appear in the government affairs hall, but he firmly holds the decision-making power of the government affairs hall. How does he, the chief prime minister, feel?
After calming down, he quickly stood up and walked out of the Government Affairs Hall, heading straight for the Wude Hall.

Ma Zhou had already submitted a petition to the emperor, and he had to go and take charge of the matter, giving His Majesty an excuse to turn things around, so as to slightly quench His Majesty's anger...

……

When Ma Zhou arrived at the Imperial Study, Li Chengqian invited him to take a seat and asked the eunuch to serve tea. He smiled and asked, "This is the first time that all the prime ministers have gathered in the Political Affairs Hall to participate in the formulation of national policies and the handling of government affairs. We have no experience before. I wonder how you get along with each other?"

The six prime ministers jointly handled government affairs, each with their own standpoints and interests. This did greatly disperse the power of the prime ministers, which was of great benefit to the stability of the imperial power. However, this also meant that the prime ministers could not agree on their own interests, and they might even argue and fight...

Ma Zhou drank a sip of tea, stood up and placed the documents and memorials he brought on the imperial desk, and said respectfully: "As a minister, it is an honor for us to be able to help your majesty solve problems and assist your majesty in handling state affairs. We are all gathered here to complement each other's strengths and weaknesses, brainstorm, and everything will proceed from your majesty's holy will, and live in harmony."

"These are matters that have been decided in the Council of State. Your Majesty, please review them and send them to the Ministry of Personnel for implementation. This memorial is about matters that have not yet been decided. I beg Your Majesty to make a decision."

"Oh?"

Li Chengqian put down his teacup, picked up the memorial, and asked curiously, "What could have stumped the prime ministers and required my judgment?"

The rule of the Council of State is that the minority obeys the majority, and the vast majority of government affairs can be decided by the prime ministers. The reason why the number of prime ministers is in even numbers is to prevent some military and national affairs from requiring the emperor to come forward to decide under the checks and balances of interests of all parties, so as to enhance the majesty of the imperial power... But such things are rare, and once they happen, they must be a big deal.

Seeing that His Majesty was already reading the memorials, Ma Zhou recounted the situation at the time and said, "The Guangzhou Maritime Customs Office has just been established and has just started to operate. The first batch of commercial taxes has not yet been delivered to the capital. The colleagues have different opinions on the Zhongshu Ling's suggestion to replace the officials. In the end, they had to vote, but the six prime ministers each held half of the opinion and were deadlocked. We can only ask Your Majesty to make a decision."

Li Chengqian's hand holding the memorial paused for a moment, and the smile on his face became a little stiff, but he returned to normal in an instant and said softly, "It is indeed difficult to decide."

I am already very dissatisfied.

The Council of State is where decisions are made on imperial affairs, so Liu Li naturally cannot have the final say. However, in order to suppress the military in terms of policy, he personally summoned Tang Jian to hint at him and persuade Tang Jian to cooperate with Liu Li on certain matters so that he can gain control of the Council of State.

But now Liu Li has lost control of the Political Affairs Hall without being able to help personally?

This is simply unreasonable.

He turned to the end of the memorial and carefully read the opinions of the prime ministers listed therein. At a glance, the "no" after Pei Huaijie's name was very eye-catching...

"Alright, this is a serious matter. Since even the prime ministers have difficulty in making a decision, I have to carefully consider the pros and cons. Let's leave it here for now and implement it when I make a decision."

"Yes. There are still some urgent matters to be dealt with in the government office. I will take my leave for now."

Ma Zhou did not emphasize the pros and cons of this matter. He was not Wei Zheng, who wanted the emperor to act according to his wishes in everything. He was just a firm executor. As long as the court formulated a policy, he would stick to it unswervingly.

As for the rest, I don't care at all.

……

Ma Zhou left, and soon after, Liu Li came in.

"I have failed your majesty's trust. Please punish me."

Liu Li did not make any excuses. He bowed to the ground and frankly admitted his mistake.

Li Chengqian frowned, remained silent, and after a moment's hesitation, he asked, "What happened?"

Liu Li did not dare to hide anything and briefly recounted what everyone in the government hall had said. At the end, his face was filled with shame and anger: "I did not expect Pei Huaijie to betray us at the last minute, which led to our failure and also implicated Your Majesty. I really deserve death."

This matter needs to be decided by Li Chengqian. Whether it is approved or rejected, it would be inappropriate.

If the ruling is passed, it would mean that he, the emperor, would be directly confronting the military, and there would be no room for maneuver between him and Fang Jun and Li Ji. The direct collision between imperial power and military power would produce countless unpredictable consequences, leading to political turmoil, instability of the country, and endless troubles.

If the ruling is rejected, Liu Li's prestige in the government hall will be completely destroyed. He does not have absolute authority to oversee all the ministers, and it will be even more difficult for him to move forward in the future. He cannot need the emperor's support for everything, right?

Therefore, Liu Li would rather be rejected on the spot in the government hall than bring the matter before His Majesty...

The expected thunderous rage did not appear. Li Chengqian frowned and asked in confusion: "What happened to Pei Huaijie?"

Liu Li was ashamed: "I... don't know."

Whether it is a minister or a subordinate, it is common to make mistakes, but the most disappointing thing is not how to make a mistake, but not knowing where to make the mistake...

Li Chengqian looked gloomy, and said to Wang De who was standing at the door: "Send Li Junxian to see you."

"Here."

Wang De left quickly.

Li Chengqian then waved his hand to Liu Li and said gently, "People make mistakes, horses stumble, and making mistakes is inevitable. It's good to be able to admit your mistakes and correct them, and get out of jail before the sheep are lost."

"Thank you for your understanding, Your Majesty!"

Liu Li was so grateful that he burst into tears and sat down again.

Li Chengqian put the memorial aside and picked up the government affairs that Ma Zhou had just delivered and reviewed them one by one. During the review, he kept asking Liu Li for his opinion. The atmosphere was very harmonious, and there was a sense of mutual understanding between the monarch and his subjects.

Soon, Li Junxian came in to meet the emperor.

Li Chengqian was reading memorials at his desk, and asked casually, "Is the Duke of Yue in the palace today?"

Li Junxian said respectfully, "He is not in the palace. After returning to the city from Zhaoling, he went to stay at Queen Seondeok's residence in Furong Garden."

To this day, in addition to being responsible for the security of the king when entering and leaving the palace, the "Hundred Cavalry Division" has also stepped up its efforts to monitor officials in the court and public opinion in the capital, especially for certain ministers who His Majesty pays special attention to, and their whereabouts are known to him like the back of his hand.

However, it has long deviated from the original intention of Emperor Taizong to establish the "Hundred Cavalry Division"...

"Oh, Duke Yue is indeed a playboy. I heard that Queen Seondeok slept with him as a virgin, and now she is pregnant?"

Liu Li said with a smile.

Li Junxian glanced at him and said calmly: "This is the private matter of Duke Yue, I don't know it."

He did follow His Majesty's orders to monitor all officials, but he did not dare to go beyond his bottom line. He never delved into the private affairs of ministers, not to mention that even if he knew, he would never tell anyone.

Li Chengqian put down his brush, rubbed his wrist, ignored Liu Li, and asked again: "Has the Duke of Yue contacted Pei Huaijie in the past two days?"

Li Junxian thought about it and shook his head, "I haven't found it yet."

I was puzzled. The two of them had a huge fight in Luoyang, which directly led to the dismissal of Pei Huaijie from the post of Henan Yin, who had served in Pei Huaijie's position for many years. He had to return to Chang'an in disgrace. It was no exaggeration to say that they were enemies. How could they contact each other?
"Please pay more attention to Pei Huaijie in the future, and leave first."

"Here."

After Li Junxian left, Li Chengqian stood up, walked out from behind the imperial desk with his hands behind his back, and stood in front of the window looking at the withered flowers and trees in the courtyard: "Could it be that Pei Huaijie took it upon himself to do this as a token of his allegiance to that side?"

Liu Li did not dare to conclude: "If he had not been instructed by the Duke of Yue, how could he act so rashly? If he failed to join the Duke, wouldn't he lose more than he gained, and cut off his own retreat? Besides, even if he joined the Duke, he would definitely compare the two to make sure that the other side would offer more benefits before doing so."

Li Chengqian was somewhat speechless: "Why do we need to compare? When he returned to Chang'an, he joined your army directly. He was humble despite his high position. But you let him infiltrate the committee as a spy and didn't give him any benefits. You can't blame him for waiting for a good price and switching sides."

Liu Li smiled awkwardly and whispered, "I don't know if he is loyal or not. After all, he colluded with the aristocratic families in Henan to undermine your majesty's national policy. His intentions are unknown. Now it seems that he may have reached a tacit understanding with the Duke of Yue in private, and deliberately joined my army, just waiting to turn against me at the critical moment."

As I said this, the more I thought about it, the more it seemed possible.

If Pei Huaijie had not joined his army directly after returning to Beijing, how could he have recommended him to His Majesty? Nor could he have entered the political affairs hall smoothly and been sent to become the prime minister as "Tongzhongshumenxia Pingzhangshi".

He has no merits at all, yet he has risen straight to the top. I'm afraid he is using a sowing of dissent...