Tang Dynasty, my wife Wu Zetian

Chapter 243 The ultimate plan
On the second day of the first lunar month, all the ministers came to the East Palace together to pay homage to the prince and wish him a happy new year.

During the entire worship process, Changsun Quan was restless and his thoughts had already flown elsewhere.

Early this morning, he heard people in the princess's mansion discussing corvee labor. After asking, he learned that the matter had already spread throughout Chang'an.

Changsun Quan was shocked. Not many people knew about this matter, and he had always been cautious and never mentioned it to anyone easily, for fear that the news would spread and make his ministers on guard.

In his view, the court meeting on the fourth day of the first lunar month was a battlefield, and he had to help the emperor and promote the abolition of corvee labor.

The ministers were his enemies.

If we can take the ministers by surprise and catch them off guard, so that they don't have time to come up with reasons to object, our chances of winning will be very high.

Now that the news has spread, the ministers will certainly study this matter carefully, and he will then be facing a group of prepared ministers.

While he was thinking, the process was finally completed. After bidding farewell to the prince, the ministers left the palace.

Changsun Quan hurried all the way and soon arrived at the Changsun Mansion, where he was taken to the study by the doorman.

"Brother, the situation is not good. I don't know how the news leaked out and it has spread to everyone in the court." He said quickly as he entered the room.

Changsun Wuji was standing behind a table, holding a rice brush in his hand, waving his arms with large movements, as if he was painting.

"Don't panic, I was the one who spread the news." Changsun Wuji said with a smile.

Chang Sunquan was surprised and asked, "It's you?"

Changsun Wuji waved his hand and said, "Silang, come here and take a look at my painting. How is it?"

Changsun Quan walked over and found that Changsun Wuji was painting a landscape painting.

Although his painting was good, how could Changsun Quan have the mind to appreciate the painting at this moment?
"Brother, why did you leak this? If you do, the court officials will be prepared. It will be very difficult to exempt the corvée at the court meeting in two days."

Changsun Wuji raised his hand and said, "Don't worry, I'll tell you after I finish this painting."

Changsun Quan was helpless, frowned, walked to a chair and sat down, silently thinking about Changsun Wuji's intention.

A quarter of an hour later, Changsun Wuji finally finished a painting. He blew hard, as if he wanted to dry all the ink.

No matter how patient Chang Sunquan was, he couldn't bear it any longer.

"Brother, have you finished your painting?"

Changsun Wuji smiled and said, "Now that I'm done, please bring a fan over and help me fan it so the ink is dry before I can put it into the painting tube."

Chang Sunquan was stunned and asked, "Why put it in a painting tube?"

"Because we are going to Da Ci'en Temple to attend Yuchi Yiseng's painting meeting." Changsun Wuji replied.

There were no art exhibitions during this period. If some calligraphy and painting masters wanted to become famous, they could only exhibit their works for free in busy places, just like those actors who performed acrobatics.

Taoist temples and Buddhist monasteries are such places, and gatherings to display paintings are called painting associations.

Chang Sunquan was stunned and asked, "The Tocharian painter who is as famous as Yan Liben?"

Changsun Wuji held the book, fanned the painting, and said, "That's the man."

Chang Sunquan frowned and said, "Brother, I just want to know about the corvée labor right now. I don't have the heart to participate in any painting meeting."

Changsun Wuji said slowly: "Young man, you must learn to be patient. I took you to Da Ci'en Temple because of the corvée."

Changsun Quan was about to ask again, but Changsun Wuji waved his hand and said, "Why don't you come over and help?"

Changsun Quan knew that there was no reason for Changsun Wuji to lie to him. Besides, the emperor released him just to get him to help him, so what he said should be true.

So I suppressed my curiosity and went over to help.

After a while, the ink on the painting dried and was put into a painting tube. The two men took the painting tube and sat in a carriage, heading towards Da Ci'en Temple.

Along the way, Changsun Quan asked him again why he leaked the information.

"I know what you're thinking."

Changsun Wuji smiled and said, "You want to suddenly raise this matter at court, and while the ministers are still unable to react, push for the abolition of corvee labor."

Chang Sunquan nodded and said, "Isn't this inappropriate?"

Changsun Wuji said slowly, "Your approach is only suitable for when you are at a disadvantage. Now that the situation is in your hands, there is no need to hide it."

"General trend?"

"That's right, His Majesty's thoughts are all about the general trend! The ministers in the court are not stupid. What are you doing in Lucheng County? Do you think others don't know? Now that His Majesty has suddenly summoned you back, they don't say anything on the surface, but they are actually watching you secretly."

Changsun Quan was startled and nodded.

Zhang Sun Wuji continued, "You hold the key to the situation. The more cautious and timid you appear, the more the ministers will feel that His Majesty does not fully support you, and therefore you lack confidence."

"On the contrary, if you make this public, they will think that you have His Majesty's full support, and they will think twice about it."

"According to what you said, after the news is made public, the ministers will know your majesty's thoughts and will no longer obstruct this matter?" Changsun Quan asked.

"It's not that easy."

Changsun Wuji waved his hand and said, "Publicizing the news only allows ordinary officials to know where the general trend lies and make the right choice. As for the heads of the two provinces and six ministries, they still need to spend some time on it."

Chang Sunquan asked, "Are you referring to Lu Chengqing and the others?"

Zhang Sun Wuji glanced at him and said with a smile, "Lu Chengqing is the head of the Ministry of Revenue. As long as you explain the financial situation of Lucheng County, he will be most easily persuaded."

Chang Sunquan thought for a moment and said, "Who else would stop this?"

"Li Yifu, Xu Jingzong, and the others don't have to worry. Shangguan Yi won't object either. There are three most troublesome people. As long as we convince them, everything will be solved."

Chang Sunquan's heart tightened: "Which three?"

"The first one." Changsun Wuji held up a finger and said, "Yu Zhining."

Chang Sunquan asked, "Will the Yu Guild object?"

Changsun Wuji said calmly, "As a veteran of three dynasties, he will of course object. However, he's weak-willed. As long as he knows the other two agree, he won't stop us. So there's no need to waste time trying to control him."

"Who are the other two you're talking about?" Changsun Wuji said solemnly, "The first one is Li Ji." After a pause, he added, "To be more precise, it's the entire military commander camp."

Chang Sunquan's eyelids twitched: "Will they all object?"

Zhang Sun Wuji said, "Of course. When fighting, we must mobilize civilians to transport food and fodder. If corvée labor is abolished, how can they fight?"

Chang Sunquan said anxiously: "But we can also recruit people and transport food and grass."

Changsun Wuji stared at him and said, "Conscription is based on public household registration, so it's difficult for spies to sneak in. If you recruit, how can you guarantee that there aren't spies from other countries among the recruits?"

Changsun Quan was stunned. He had never thought about this question.

Changsun Wuji said, "You don't have to worry. I already have an idea in mind for this matter. We can solve it later."

Chang Sunquan asked, "Does that mean we have to deal with the last person first?"

Chang Sun Wuji said slowly, "Exactly. The last one is the Minister of the Central Secretariat and Minister of Works, Yan Liben."

Yan Liben is good at painting.

It was not until this time that Changsun Quan was finally able to connect the corvée labor with Yuchi Yiseng's painting club.

"You took me to Da Ci'en Temple because you thought Minister Yan would come to the painting party?"

Changsun Wuji smiled and said, "I guess that's half the answer."

"Then how do you plan to convince him?"

"The solution lies in the other half of your incorrect answer."

Soon, the carriage finally arrived at Da Ci'en Temple.

On the second day of the Lunar New Year, there was an endless stream of people coming to the temple to pray. The long stone steps leading to the temple gate were packed with people in formal attire.

The two followed the crowd and finally entered the Da Ci'en Temple. They walked around the Guangming Hall and the Prajna Hall and came to a square south of the Big Wild Goose Pagoda.

There are many bamboo poles inserted in the square area, and the bamboo poles are connected with ink ropes, forming an elegant place.

Countless scholars and literati in white clothes walked through the square, hanging their paintings on ink ropes and commenting on the paintings with smiles on each other.

What a leisurely and elegant painting gathering.

Chang Sunquan could smell the scent of ink from afar. When he got closer, he saw excellent paintings everywhere.

Changsun Wuji took him to a place with few people and hung up his painting there.

There were also many officials among the people attending the painting party. They quickly recognized Changsun Wuji, but did not come over to talk to him.

After a long while, one could hear bursts of noise and exclamations coming from the center of the square.

Changsun Wuji and the other man also walked over and saw four screens placed in the center of the square, forming a square.

There are four or five paintings hanging on each screen, which are the works of Yuchi Yiseng.

A separation line was drawn on the ground, and everyone stood outside the line, admiring the painting on the screen.

Yuchi Yiseng's paintings are called "Bent Iron and Coiled Silk" to praise his paintings for their convex and concave shapes, lifelike appearance and strong three-dimensional sense.

After looking at the paintings that jumped out of the paper, Changsun Quan's pupils shrank slightly and he turned his head to look at Changsun Wuji.

"Brother, did you arrange this?"

The scenes depicted in these paintings are the entire Lucheng County.

There are not only the main streets of the county town, but also the official roads outside the city, fields and crops, as well as many works recording the daily life of the people in Lucheng County.

Each of these people is in high spirits, with a simple smile on their face.

Although the streets of Lucheng County are not as lively as those of Chang'an City, they are unexpectedly lively and are not inferior to the counties around Chang'an City.

After reading all these paintings, it feels like I have traveled to Lucheng County in person.

If I hadn't gone to Lucheng County in person, I would never have been able to paint such a work.

Changsun Wuji smiled and said, "On the fourth day after I left Zhaoling, I went to find Yuchi Yiseng and asked him to go to Lucheng County and draw the appearance of the entire county."

After hearing this, Changsun Quan was stunned and speechless.

I admire Changsun Wuji's foresight and also his ability to get someone like Yuchi Yiseng to do such a thing for him.

Yuchi Yiseng was not an ordinary painter. He held the title of county duke and had a simple temperament. It was difficult for ordinary people to meet him, but he was willing to travel thousands of miles for Changsun Wuji.

At this moment, Changsun Wuji whispered, "Look, Yan Liben is here."

Changsun Quan followed his gaze and saw an old man in gorgeous clothes walking towards him from the opposite side.

Yan Liben was the current Minister of the Central Secretariat and a famous painter who was on par with Yuchi Yiseng. Naturally, others admired him.

The crowd automatically parted ways, as if he had an invisible aura.

Changsun Wuji took two steps back and hid in the crowd to avoid being seen by Yan Liben.

Chang Sunquan whispered, "Brother, can these paintings alone impress Yan Liben?"

Changsun Wuji stared at Yan Liben and said, "Others may not be able to do it, but Yan Liben should be able to do it. He is obsessed with painting and is easily moved by it."

"Furthermore, he had served as an envoy for promotion and demotion and had inspected Hebei, so he had a clear understanding of what Hebei was like. When he saw the changes in Lucheng County, he could feel firsthand the effect of the abolition of corvee labor."

Changsun Quan nodded and turned his head to look at Yan Liben, only to see that he was frowning and thinking.

In order to appreciate the painting, everyone spontaneously circled around the screen. After completing a circle, Yan Liben strode away.

"Brother, did you say you impressed him?"

Zhang Sun Wuji looked at his back and said with a smile, "He didn't even bother to appreciate Yuchi Yiseng's paintings. Do you think he was moved?"

Chang Sunquan's heart was lifted, and he said, "Then only Li Ji and the military are left."

(End of this chapter)