Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 5075 Extremely Tough
Seeing this, Liu Ji was full of energy, pointed his halberd at him and shouted angrily: "The famous weapon was given by the king, how can you throw it away and threaten the king? Duke Yue, you have no respect for the king and are full of contempt. What do you want to do? Do you really think that you can do whatever you want and be unscrupulous just because you have made a few achievements?!"

My heart was filled with joy. If Fang Jun really resigned from his post, that would be a great thing!
Ever since Your Majesty has excluded the Shangshu and Zuo Pushe from the Zhengshi Hall and set up the Zhengshi Hall within the Zhongshu Province, the Zhongshu Ling has become the head of many prime ministers and is in fact the undisputed prime minister!
However, the Council of State, which represented the highest administrative body of the empire, had long been suppressed by Fang Jun. All the prime ministers had their own selfish desires and tended to favor Fang Jun, resulting in him being the prime minister in name only. When people in the court and the public talked about him, no one envied him as the prime minister or respected his status. Instead, they made many ridicules and sarcasms.

It’s tolerable, it’s unbearable!

Now that Fang Jun has taken the initiative to resign, no matter if the other party is playing hard to get or retreating to advance, he must take this opportunity to confirm Fang Jun's "crime" and make Fang Jun suffer the consequences...

So he angrily scolded Fang Jun and turned to Li Chengqian without waiting for him to speak, saying righteously: "Your Majesty, please understand that the Duke of Yue is arrogant and disrespectful to the emperor. His crime is unforgivable! His title and official position should be stripped to rectify the government! Otherwise, if everyone follows suit, your majesty's prestige will be damaged and the country will no longer be a country!"

As soon as the Minister of the Secretariat spoke, a group of officials followed suit and came forward to accuse Fang Jun of being spoiled, domineering and disrespectful to the emperor. Some even picked out Fang Jun's usual work style problems and criticized them one by one.

There was an uproar in the court, and Fang Jun was instantly labeled a treacherous and evil person who was "unforgivable" and "full of evil".

However, when Liu Li led a group of civil servants to criticize and attack Fang Jun, the Censorate, which should have been fully engaged, was silent and stood aside.

It's really weird.

Faced with Fang Jun's efforts to protect the Eastern Palace and his willingness to resign from office and retire, Liu Xiangdao was a little confused for a moment. He couldn't make up his mind whether he should stick to his previous strategy and stand beside Fang Jun to oppose His Majesty?
The reason why he formulated a strategy to oppose Your Majesty was, on the one hand, because he felt that this was the duty of the Chief Censor, and that promoting a concubine above his rank was against the law, and he should not damage his principles because of Your Majesty; secondly, he could use this to create the image of a "strong commander", reverse the previous infamy of being the emperor's lackey, and reap a wave of prestige for being "fair and honest", which could be said to kill two birds with one stone.

But now Fang Jun jumped out, and in front of everyone, he showed his position as a "loyal minister of the Eastern Palace" with an extremely tough attitude, but he took away all the benefits he had originally planned...

If he opposed His Majesty and joined the same camp with Fang Jun at this time, and Fang Jun took away all the benefits, how much would he have left? Is it worth it?

But if I support His Majesty, when will I be able to get rid of the title of "Emperor's lackey"?

The power of the Censorate does not only come from the emperor. Without the support of the entire scholar community, who will listen to what it says?

Sun Chuyue poked him in the waist from behind and whispered, "Yatai, what should we do?"

Liu Xiangdao was hesitant, but when he saw Cui Dunli, Liu Rengui, Cheng Wuting and others exchanging glances and seeming to be about to step out, and even Ma Zhou, Dai Zhou, Pei Xizai and others were ready to move, he finally made up his mind.

He quickly stepped forward, stepped out of the line and said loudly: "The rules are there, how can we overstep them by force? Moreover, the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace is intelligent and filial, and must not be threatened by the promotion of the concubines in the harem. Your Majesty is the master of the world, and so is the Crown Prince. As subjects, we should love Your Majesty and support the Crown Prince!"

Other censors from the Censorate followed suit, scolding and arguing with Liu Li and others.

Li Chengqian's face turned pale and he glared at Fang Jun angrily.

Naturally, he would not let Fang Jun resign and fade out of the central government, even though this idiot had contradicted him many times, making him so angry that his internal organs ached and his six bowels were in turmoil. But he was not stupid. He knew who in the court truly supported him, and who was responsible for his ascension to the throne and his power in the Taiji Hall.

I had no choice but to look at Li Xiaogong.

Li Xiaogong didn't say a word until Fang Jun stood up and questioned him in a tough manner. He then observed Li Chengqian's expression. At this moment, his eyes met Li Chengqian's, and he immediately stood up.

"Everyone, the promotion of the concubines is your Majesty's family affair. Your Majesty can decide it with a single word, but you did not expect the impact to be so far-reaching. In my opinion, we should put this matter aside for the time being, and discuss and negotiate in detail later, and come up with a plan that is acceptable to all parties and is feasible, and then issue an edict to make it clear to the world. Everyone, what do you think?"

Fang Jun immediately agreed: "The prince's words are mature and prudent, that's exactly what should be done!"

It seems to delay time and temporarily ease the conflict, but it can be seen that the royal family does not agree with Your Majesty's approach. At this moment, the matter is suppressed under the pretext of improving the situation, but afterwards, the parties who should oppose will still oppose, and the matter can only be left unresolved.

As soon as he opened his mouth, Ma Zhou, Cui Dunli and others followed.

For those officials whose personal interests were not involved, it would be best if the matter could end in such a peaceful way, and they all agreed.

Liu Li insisted on supporting His Majesty. At this moment, His Majesty was silent and had obviously retreated. He sighed in his heart and said no more.

In the end, only the Censorate was left to express strong opposition.

All eyes were focused on him. His Majesty was looking down from the throne, Liu Li was watching eagerly from the side, Fang Jun had a playful look, and Li Xiaogong had a deep look in his eyes...

Liu Xiangdao felt extremely embarrassed at this moment.

Originally, this was a good opportunity to use this incident to become famous. Careful deductions and detailed plans had been made in advance to ensure that there would be no mistakes. But who would have thought that Fang Jun, the person who should least stand up to oppose, would stand up?

Judging from the filth and disagreements that Fang Jun and Your Majesty have shown over this period of time, a huge rift has already appeared between the monarch and his subject. Doesn't Fang Jun know when to stop and not completely anger Your Majesty?

However, no matter how he planned in advance, the current situation was difficult for him to control.

It is absolutely not possible to follow Fang Jun in opposing His Majesty, because the appearance of Li Xiaogong has stabilized the situation. Putting this matter on hold is equivalent to saving His Majesty's face. If he, the Chief Censor, continues to oppose it, it will easily lead to the collapse of the stabilized situation again, and His Majesty will be forced into a situation where he has to make one of two choices: either dismiss Fang Jun and promote Shen Jieyu, or publicly promise Shen Jieyu that she will only be promoted to the position of Zhaoyi.

Obviously, neither option is acceptable.

If I agree with Your Majesty or echo Li Xiaogong, I will give people the impression that I have no opinions of my own and just go with the flow, which is extremely fatal for a Censor.

Combined with his performance in the previous "knocking on the palace gate" incident, it can almost be said that the career of the Imperial Censor has come to an early end...

But when he met His Majesty's gaze, he finally had to compromise.

"The Prince of Hejian's suggestion is very good. Since the promotion to Zhaoyi is a matter of great importance and far-reaching impact, we should be cautious and make a decision after weighing all the factors."

There is no way. Although he hates people calling him "the emperor's lackey" the most, the indisputable fact is that he is indeed the "emperor's lackey".

It's not just because he was selected and entrusted with important tasks by His Majesty, but also because the power of the Censorate comes from the emperor. Without the trust and reliance of the emperor, it would be impossible to accomplish anything simply by relying on the support of public opinion from the literati.

*****
Inside the Ganlu Palace, Queen Su was feeling uneasy. From time to time, she raised her slender, fair neck and looked towards the south towards the Taiji Palace, feeling worried.

At today's court meeting, it is said that the ministers will discuss the promotion of Concubine Shen to Zhaoyi. Your Majesty will naturally take a tough stance, but I wonder if those ministers who have always claimed to be fair will bow down to your Majesty's tough stance?
And Fang Jun, whom she has high hopes for, has even hinted at it by offering himself to her. Will he stick to his stance to secure the crown prince's position?
She didn't care about having another Zhaoyi or concubine in the palace. The only reason she cared about the position of Queen was to support the Crown Prince. Otherwise, she could retreat into the deep palace and study Buddhism leisurely. Why would she compete for favor with those coquettish women?

It has been a long time since His Majesty and I have had a good time together, and she doesn't have a strong need for it, so she has long since given up on it...

The palace servants kept passing the news back.

When Empress Su heard that His Majesty had a tough attitude and that the Minister of the Central Secretariat was fully supportive, she became increasingly upset.

Even the Crown Prince Li Xiang beside him had a worried look on his face, and said worriedly: "Father is so determined, I'm afraid this matter will be settled."

Generally speaking, His Majesty would bring him with him to court meetings like this, and sit aside to observe and learn how to be a monarch. But today, he found a reason to exclude him from the Taiji Hall, which made Li Xiang, who had not yet mastered the affairs of state, feel deeply threatened.

At the same time, he felt a strong sense of frustration: if an unborn prince could shake his position, then what was he in the eyes of his father?

Queen Su held Li Xiang in her arms and soothed him softly, "Don't worry, Prince. The ministers will definitely be able to stop your majesty. You are the crown prince of the Tang Dynasty. You were canonized according to the golden law and it is a matter of justice. The ministers will definitely support you."

Li Xiang raised his head and looked at his mother's beautiful, pointed and smooth jaw. "What if I can't stop her? Will I be deposed?"

"will not!"

Queen Su said firmly, "Even if others can't stop him, there is still the Grand Commandant. He will definitely be able to do it!"

Li Xiang was immediately excited and clenched his fists: "My mother is right, the general is here! He is my master, he will definitely protect me like he protected my father!"

Queen Su smiled, stretched out her fair hand and gently stroked the crown prince's head, saying softly, "The crown prince is right, he will definitely be able to protect you!"

All her efforts are on the prince. The prince not only represents her motherly love, but also is her lifelong hope. No matter who it is, as long as they can protect the prince, she is willing to pay any price!
The sound of hurried footsteps interrupted the mother and son, and someone walked quickly from the inner room.

The mother and son looked over immediately, realized that there was the latest news, and pursed their lips at the same time.

I felt uneasy.