Tang Dynasty, my wife Wu Zetian

Chapter 290: Overthrow Yuchi Gong?

When Xu Jingzong met with Li Yifu, Xiao Siye also came to Zheng Rentai's mansion.

Afterwards, the Zheng family sent a servant to Zhou Daowu's residence and invited him over.

Zhou Daowu quickly arrived at Zheng's house and walked along the corridor to the outside of the study.

As soon as I pushed the door open, I saw Xiao Siye and Zheng Rentai drinking tea in the study.

When the two saw him, they had strange expressions on their faces, as if they wanted to laugh but held it back.

Zhou Daowu sat down on the chair and said with a wry smile, "Laugh if you want to, but don't spit out the tea."

It turned out that there were five scratches on his face, which were obviously caused by the woman's nails.

The only woman who dared to capture her husband was Princess Linchuan.

After the truth of Zheng Xuankai's case came to light, not only were the Zheng father and son punished, but Zhou Daowu was also demoted three levels for losing the fish seal.

By the beginning of next year, he might not be able to keep his position as General of the Right Guard.

When Princess Linchuan learned about this, she became furious and fought with him, leaving scars on his face.

Zhou Daowu took sick leave because of this and did not go out for more than half a month. He did not even go to the regular court today because he was afraid of being laughed at.

If he hadn't heard that Xiao Siye was also in Zheng's mansion, he would not have gone out this time.

Xiao Siye coughed and said, "Brother Zhou, I'm really sorry that I couldn't help with the Baekje spies."

Zhou Daowu waved his hand and said, "Brother Xiao, what are you talking about? This matter is entirely my own fault. I coveted beauty and was schemed against. I deserve it. Brother Xiao, I am already very grateful for your help."

Xiao Siye said slowly, "This matter has left a bad impression on both of you in the Saint's mind. I happen to have a way that may be able to make up for it."

Zheng Rentai was wondering why he had come to see him and even invited Zhou Daowu over. Upon hearing this, he hurriedly asked, "How are you going to make amends?"

Xiao Siye said in a deep voice, "As you saw at today's court meeting, the ministers all hoped that Your Majesty would attack Goguryeo."

Zheng Rentai said: "To be fair, now is a good time to attack Goguryeo."

Zhou Daowu did not attend court today, and was confused when he heard it. He hurriedly asked what was going on, and Xiao Siye told him what happened in the court.

Zhou Daowu thought for a moment and said, "Now that Tubo has been pacified and the Khitans have just been defeated, it's not surprising that the ministers want to attack Goguryeo."

Xiao Siye asked, "General Zheng, did you observe His Majesty's attitude at the court today?"

Zheng Rentai frowned and said, "Your Majesty seems to have not made up his mind yet."

"It's not that I haven't made up my mind," Xiao Siye corrected him. "Your Majesty doesn't agree with this."

Zhou Daowu was surprised and said, "Your Majesty has always been bold and resolute. How could you not agree?"

Zheng Rentai looked sideways at him and said, "Brother Xiao, is this something you figured out, or did you get some information?"

Xiao Siye sighed, "Your Majesty's thoughts are hard to guess. How could I possibly fathom them? To be honest, it was Xu Jingzong who told me."

He told the two of them about what Xu Jingzong had just done when he came to see him.

The two men looked at each other and said, "Xu Jingzong is cunning and treacherous. I'm afraid he can't be trusted."

Xiao Siye smiled and said, "I have received news from the palace that Xu Jingzong did indeed have an audience with the emperor. The news should be true."

Both of them knew that he had close ties with the Wu Mansion and had always been in contact with the Fourth Prince, so he was very well-informed about the news in the palace.

Having said that, I am quite confident.

Zhou Daowu pondered for a moment and said, "Thank you, Brother Xiao, for telling me. I know what to do at the court meeting in a few days."

Zheng Rentai said nothing.

Xiao Siye looked at him and said, "General Zheng, do you still have doubts?"

Zheng Rentai raised his hand and said, "No, I suddenly remembered something else."

Xiao Siye asked curiously, "What's the matter?"

Zheng Rentai said in a deep voice: "I'm thinking about whether I can use this opportunity to bring down Yuchi Gong."

Xiao Siye and Zhou Daowu were both surprised when they heard this.

Xiao Siye's eyes flickered as he said, "General Zheng, even if Yuchi Gong proposed attacking Goguryeo, as long as we object and His Majesty slams the table, he probably won't insist. How can we overthrow him?"

Zheng Rentai whispered, "I recently heard something. If I bring it up in front of His Majesty, maybe it will work."

They both asked, "What's the matter?"

Zheng Rentai came up to the two of them and whispered.

After listening to this, Xiao Siye pondered for a while, then shook his head and said, "Even if I tell this to His Majesty, given His Majesty's trust in Yuchi Gong, it may not be possible to bring him down."

Zheng Rentai said slowly, "You are young and don't know much about Yuchi Gong. Do you know why he stayed in seclusion in his mansion for more than ten years?"

Zhou Daowu said, "I only heard that he angered the late emperor at a palace banquet."

Zheng Rentai said, "I was also present at that palace banquet. He completely disregarded the late emperor's dignity and assaulted the ministers. This incident would be unacceptable to any emperor."

Zhou Daowu frowned and said, "But I heard that he has changed a lot compared to before."

Zheng Rentai snorted, "It's difficult to change a person's temperament. He just suppressed his nature. We'll use this incident to reveal his true colors in front of Your Majesty!"

Xiao Siye suddenly said, "General Zheng, I don't quite understand why you want to go after Yuchi Gong. Has he ever offended you?" Zheng Rentai was silent for a moment, then said, "Outside the court, we have Xue Rengui and Su Dingfang. Inside, we have Li Ji, Cheng Zhijie, and Yuchi Gong. They've all occupied their positions. If one of them isn't taken down, no one else will ever be able to take over."

Xiao Siye was slightly startled and said, "Brother Zheng, your Zheng family is a royal family, why are you so anxious?"

Zhou Daowu followed up, "Yes, Yuchi Gong is already in his seventies and doesn't have many years left to live. Why are you so anxious?"

Zheng Rentai sighed and said, "Because of Xuan Kai's case, the Imperial Concubine is quite angry with me, and the Nan Zufang family is also making a fuss about dividing the clan with us. I'm afraid that my status as a royal relative will not be of any use."

Xiao Siye immediately understood.

Without the support of Concubine Zheng in the palace, Zheng Rentai's status in the emperor's heart will only become lower and lower. Even after Yuchi Gong dies, it will not be his turn to take the throne.

At present, considering the Goguryeo issue, he only needs to fully support the emperor and confront Yuchi Gong head-on.

If Yuchi Gong steps down, he will be the most likely successor.

Xiao Siye warned: "General Zheng, you'd better think carefully. If you can't overthrow Yuchi Gong, you will offend him to death."

Zheng Rentai said: "I have made up my mind. If I cannot make further progress, I will step down and focus on training the next generation."

Seeing his expression, Xiao Siye knew that it was useless to persuade him any further, so he said slowly, "Since that's the case, I won't persuade you any further. I will do my best to assist you."

Zhou Daowu hurriedly said, "Me too."

Zheng Rentai bowed to the two of them and said, "Thank you very much."

Three days later, Gao Kan and Liu Renyuan brought the Khitan leader Abgu, the four Khitan chieftains who rebelled against the Tang Dynasty, and a group of captives to Chang'an to surrender.

Also accompanying them were three Khitan tribes that surrendered to the Tang Dynasty. One of them was called Yelu, who was originally a small tribe of the Yaonian tribe.

Yaoniantu was captured alive by the Yelu tribe and sent to Yingzhou.

Li Zhi issued an order to hold a surrender ceremony at the east gate of Chang'an - Chunming Gate, and the people were allowed to go and watch.

Li Zhi did not preside over the surrender ceremony in person, but asked Crown Prince Li Hong to preside over it on his behalf.

Although Li Hong was young, the ceremony did not require him to do anything. He only needed to stand on the city wall so that the people of Chang'an could see him.

The surrender ceremony went smoothly and ended around 3 p.m. Li Zhi issued an edict to pardon Abugu and let him live in the Hu King's Palace.

On the fourth day, the regular court session began again, which was held every five days.

Early in the morning, officials who were qualified to attend court passed through the Ganlu Gate and came to the Ganlu Outer Hall to attend court.

The ministers stood in the hall, whispering to each other about the matters they would report today.

Zheng Rentai has been thinking about today's events these days. After much thought, he feels that it is unlikely that Yuchi Gong will take action in front of the emperor.

It would be best to induce him to have an attack before the emperor arrives.

If he didn't lose his temper, and it wasn't in front of the emperor, it wouldn't be too offensive to him, leaving room for easing the situation.

Therefore, he deliberately raised his voice and discussed the people's livelihood in Hebei with Xiao Siye. He also mentioned that the people of Hebei were currently recovering their livelihood and it was not appropriate to start a war in Liaodong.

As expected, as soon as the topic started, those officials who advocated war came over to interrupt and started arguing about the matter.

Seeing that the war had already begun before the emperor arrived, Xu Jingzong hurriedly joined the battle and refuted the three people in one breath with sharp words.

His joining immediately attracted Yu Zhining to join, and then Li Jingxuan, Li Yifu, Cheng Zhijie, Yuchi Gong and others also joined in the discussion.

The hall seemed to have become a vegetable market, and the ministers were divided into two factions, arguing with each other.

This kind of situation happened frequently when the pro-martial arts faction and the aristocratic family faction were fighting openly and secretly.

After the aristocratic faction was suppressed by the emperor and the pro-military faction was disbanded, this kind of situation rarely occurred.

As the two sides were arguing fiercely, Zheng Rentai suddenly looked at Yuchi Gong and said, "You are so persistent in attacking Goguryeo. I'm afraid someone has selfish motives at work."

Yuchi Gong said angrily, "Why are you looking at me? Are you saying that I have selfish motives?"

Zheng Rentai snorted, "Isn't it?"

Yuchi Gong said loudly: "Zheng boy, tell me what selfish motives this old man has. If you can't tell me, I will not forgive you."

Zheng Rentai snorted coldly, "Old General, you've been secretly trying to send Ling Sanlang to Yingzhou recently, hoping to have him participate in the battle against the Khitan. Is that true?"

"It's a pity that the war in Yingzhou was fought too quickly. When Ling Sanlang was transferred to Yingzhou, the war had already ended, and he didn't gain any military merit."

Yuchi Gong's face changed drastically.

His third son was named Yuchi Baohuan, who was born after he was forty years old, so he cherished him very much.

He also knew that he was in his seventies and could die at any time, and the person he was most worried about was his son.

So I hope he can make some achievements as soon as possible so that he can stand on his own. What Zheng Rentai said is not wrong.

However, which general does not want his son to have the opportunity to make merit? He did not use his influence to give his son special treatment, but let Yuchi Baohuan go through the Ministry of War's procedures and apply to go to Yingzhou.

It was because of this that Yuchi Baohuan missed the Battle of Yingzhou. If Yuchi Gong had really used his connections, this would never have been the result.

"Zheng Rentai, you..."

Seeing his dark face growing redder and veins bulging on his forehead, Zheng Rentai was on the verge of a rage. He rushed to speak, "In order to give your son a chance to gain merit, you provoked the court into a war against Goguryeo, completely disregarding the people's livelihood in Hebei. If this isn't selfish, what is it?"

Yuchi Gong roared angrily and punched Zheng Rentai in the face!
(End of this chapter)