Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 5235
Liu Ji hurried into the Imperial Study.

"Your Majesty, the Censor-in-Chief Sun Chuyue has impeached the Ministry of Personnel for disregarding the law and engaging in private bribery, and the Grand Commandant for interfering in the granting of official positions and selling official titles. The impeachment memorial has just been delivered to the Secretariat. We request Your Majesty to make a decision."

Liu Ji handed the memorial to Li Chengqian and stood respectfully to one side of the imperial desk.

Li Chengqian put down his brush and placed it on the brush holder. He took the memorial, glanced at Liu Ji first, and then unfolded the memorial, reading ten lines at a glance.

He put down the memorial, got up and knelt on the mat in front of the window, beckoned Liu Ji to come forward, and signaled the eunuch to serve fragrant tea.

Taking a sip of tea, Li Chengqian asked, "What is the Grand Secretary's opinion on this matter?"

Liu Ji, holding a cup of tea, said, “In the matter of Guo Xiaoke, there was indeed no conclusion at the time. The merits and demerits, rewards and punishments were all in the Emperor’s mind, which was not inappropriate. However, with the Changsun family first and then Guo Xiaoke, this matter has gone beyond the scope of an isolated case. No matter how it is handled, it will attract the attention of the court and the public, and will be regarded as the guiding principle of Your Majesty’s governance. Your Majesty should handle this matter with caution.”

Li Chengqian sipped his tea, his heart filled with dissatisfaction.

This is the biggest difference between Liu Ji and Fang Junzhi.

Once Fang Jun received the message, he was able to make a decision immediately. Whether it was the Changsun family or Guo Xiaoke, they all acted first and reported later. However, there was not a trace of arrogance or disrespect for the emperor in this. On the contrary, they took the initiative to assume responsibility.

Whether it was forgiving the Changsun family or treating Guo Xiaoke well, both could embody the concept of "benevolence," which was the label Li Chengqian intended to attach to himself.

However, if one brings it up voluntarily, it may seem like a calculated move, while a passive approach better demonstrates the essence of "benevolence."

The difference between being proactive and being passive is like heaven and earth, and the effects are incomparable.

Could Liu Ji not see through the trickery?

It is obvious that the wisdom of the imperial prime minister should not be underestimated.

However, he chose to remain uninvolved and avoid responsibility, handing over the reins to the emperor, which almost ruined Fang Junzhi's scheme.

With a thought racing through his mind, Li Chengqian nodded and said, "I would like to hear the details."

Liu Ji was taken aback. He understood the principle perfectly well; why did he need to explain it in detail?
But since His Majesty had asked, he could not refuse. He carefully considered his words and said, "While there is no definitive conclusion about Guo Xiaoke's defeat in the Western Regions, there has never been any certainty that he 'died for his country.' It is unreasonable for the Ministry of Personnel to allow members of the Guo family to be included in the selection list and to quickly grant them official positions before the central government has made a decision."

Li Chengqian slowly sipped his tea: "Then, according to the Grand Secretary's opinion, how should the Ministry of Personnel be dealt with? Besides the Ministry of Personnel, how should the Grand Commandant be dealt with?"

Liu Ji realized something was wrong; was he being asked to step in?

The Ministry of Personnel was headed by Li Xiaogong, and the Grand Commandant, who was the tutor of the Crown Prince and held great power... He originally did not want to get involved in this matter, which is why he came to ask His Majesty for advice, intending to stay out of it. But now he was cornered by His Majesty and could not extricate himself.

He and Fang Jun had always been at odds and engaged in open and covert struggles, but everything was within a certain scope, and could be considered as political differences rather than personal grudges.

Once personal grudges are involved, do you really think Fang Jun wouldn't dare to hit him?
Now that things have come to this, we can only try to mitigate the serious consequences: "The Ministry of Personnel's actions are unreasonable, but the central government has not yet convicted Guo Xiaoke either; simply ordering them to revoke Guo Xiaoshen's appointment is sufficient. As for the Grand Commandant... Sun Chuyue's accusation that the Grand Commandant was selling official positions is utterly absurd. Given the Grand Commandant's rank, merits, official position, and immense wealth, how could he possibly profit from selling official positions? The charge of selling official positions is absolutely untenable. However, his blatant interference with the Ministry of Personnel's selection system to secure official positions for his relatives is a trend that cannot be allowed to continue. Your Majesty should issue an edict to reprimand him as a warning to others."

After saying that, he looked at Li Chengqian expectantly.

Li Chengqian remained noncommittal, slowly sipping his tea.

Liu Ji felt uneasy, knowing that His Majesty had seen through his thoughts, and he felt quite ashamed.

After a long while, Li Chengqian put down his teacup and nodded: "At tomorrow's court assembly, let the Grand Secretary announce the decision in public."

“…Here you go.”

Liu Ji was helpless.

After going around in circles, he'll still be the one to do the work that offends people. Since that's the case, why should I bother going to the palace?

……

Back in his duty room, Liu Ji looked displeased and felt irritable.

Neither Li Xiaogong nor Fang Jun are people you can easily offend.

It's one thing for the two to disagree on political views in the imperial court, but they were not petty and were able to tolerate political disputes.

However, if he were to privately advise His Majesty to punish the two, it would be tantamount to tattling, which would inevitably offend the two completely.

He knew full well that he had lost the Emperor's favor and that his position as Grand Secretary wouldn't last much longer. He absolutely did not want to suffer the retaliation of those two men after retiring...

After much deliberation, Liu Ji finally picked up a brush and wrote a letter, put it in an envelope, and summoned his trusted servants, ordering them to deliver the letter to the Duke of England's residence.

*****
British government.

Inside the flower hall, Li Ji looked at Cheng Yaojin, who had downed his wine cup in one gulp, and said with a face full of disdain: "I buried this wine underground for more than ten years. Its fiery nature has completely disappeared, and it is now mellow and smooth. Every sip is one less sip. It should be savored and enjoyed slowly. It is a real waste of talent and a disgrace to the wine to drink it like this!"

Cheng Yaojin ignored this and said dismissively, "Good wine or bad wine is meant to be drunk, isn't it? If it's delicious, one should drink more. Lord Ying, there's no need to be so stingy!"

Li Ji looked at yet another empty wine jar lying to the side, his heart aching. He said with dissatisfaction, "You, the dignified Duke of Lu, a general commanding troops and guarding the capital, should either go home to rest or stay in the military camp. Why are you running around here all day? Do you really think those corrupt officials in the Censorate wouldn't dare to impeach you?"

"Am I afraid of impeachment? Even if they impeach me, how badly can my situation get?"

Cheng Yaojin took a sip of wine, sighed, stroked his wine-stained beard, and said with deep resentment, "I am also a meritorious official of the Zhenguan era. I contributed my strength and shed my blood for this country back then, following Emperor Taizong to quell the warlords and fight in the north and south... But what about now? I can only guard a military camp with my tail between my legs, and I have to be careful even when I go into the city to have a drink with my old comrades! Tell me, what kind of life is this?"

Li Ji said with a wry smile, "We are the epitome of being too clever for our own good. We are reaping what we sowed."

Among the heroes who came from Wagangzhai, some were unparalleled in wisdom, some were incomparably brave, and some were geniuses in military strategy. They were all distinctive and outstanding figures of their time. Cheng Yaojin may seem rough and reckless, but in reality, he was a man of great wisdom and was most skilled at scheming. He was also adept at understanding the times and avoiding danger.

In the end, after all the calculations, they miscalculated on the matter of His Majesty's ascension to the throne.

"Not taking sides" is indeed a wise way to protect oneself. As a meritorious official of the Zhenguan era, Duke of Lu, and General of the Left Guard, he had already reached the pinnacle of his career and title, and there was no room for further advancement. He did not need to risk taking sides and clarifying his position.

In this respect, he is no different from Cheng Yaojin.

However, it overlooked human nature.

After His Majesty ascended the throne, there were two consecutive coups. Not only did Chang'an become a battlefield, but even Taiji Palace was ravaged by war. His Majesty's life was once in imminent danger. At that time, he was almost in despair. It was like a person drowning. Who would step forward to pull him out, who would give him a push, and who would stand on the shore and watch? One can imagine the feelings of the person drowning.

In contrast to his own decision to pull back from the brink and cut his losses in time, Cheng Yaojin, even after going to Liangzhou, still tried to outwit his opponents and refused to settle down. Ultimately, he was confined to a corner of Chang'an, nominally a general commanding troops, but in reality, he was practically under house arrest...

Despite boasting of his unparalleled cunning, Cheng Yaojin suffered repeated heavy blows and could only watch as a junior rose to power and influence. One can only imagine the resentment in Cheng Yaojin's heart.

The eldest son, Li Zhen, came in from outside, first bowed to Cheng Yaojin, and then handed a letter to Li Ji: "Father, this is a letter sent by the Grand Secretary through a servant. Please read it."

"Liu Li?"

Li Ji frowned, took the letter, tore open the envelope, and read the letter quickly.

After reading it, he casually handed it to Cheng Yaojin...

"The Ministry of Personnel handled this matter improperly. The court has never determined the nature of Guo Xiaoke's death, but the Ministry of Personnel, in order to save face by selling houses, arbitrarily initiated the selection process for Guo's sons and quickly granted them official positions before any attention was being paid. The Censorate will certainly not let this go."

After reading the letter, Cheng Yaojin felt refreshed and took another big gulp of wine: "That Fang Er is arrogant, domineering, treacherous and ruthless. This time he has really stirred up a hornet's nest!"

Seeing Fang Jun in trouble made him happier than if he had found money himself!

Li Ji waved for Li Zhen to leave before scolding him, "After all, Erlang also calls you uncle, so some resentment is understandable, but such gloating and kicking someone when they're down is going too far!"

"Hey! What does this have to do with calling him uncle? I've always thought highly of that kid, and I'm usually very close to him, no different from any other nephew or niece in the family. But that doesn't stop me from getting angry whenever I see him. Why can't I gloat when he does something wrong? He teamed up with Xiao Yu to trick me back then, and who knows how happy he is at home!"

Li Ji said, "Although Erlang has something on you, it's ultimately your own greed that gave others an opportunity to take advantage of you. In the end, aren't those cotton fields in Hexi still in your possession?"

Upon hearing this, Cheng Yaojin immediately glared and cried out loudly that he was innocent.

"You think so too? You've all been fooled by that brat! Those cotton fields in Hexi are indeed still in my family's possession, but they've now fallen under Princess Qinghe's name... The title and family property will be inherited by the eldest son in the future, and the second son, who is married to Princess Qinghe, will inevitably have to separate from the family and live separately. With the cotton fields under the princess's name, tell me, how thick-skinned do I have to be to ask the princess to return the cotton fields?"

He wasn't sure if Fang Jun had planned this all along or if Princess Gaoyang had just improvised. In any case, the 10,000 mu of cotton fields that he had managed to snatch and extort from Xiao Yu in Hexi, despite having to swallow his pride, were not only being ruthlessly manipulated by Fang Jun and forced to refuse the Emperor's decree to transfer him to the capital and obediently stay outside Chang'an City, but he was also too embarrassed to ask for them back because they were registered under Princess Qinghe's name.

While his girlfriends were all smiles as they made a fortune, all the hardship and humiliation fell on him alone.

He let out a sigh of relief. He had already accepted that the matter was beyond repair, so he asked, "What should we do about Guo Xiaoke's situation? Although he's dead, we can't forget our friendship from back then. We should at least try to help him out, right?"