The First National Preceptor of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 47

"Of course, his soldiers complained to him all day long, but he couldn't complain to the court or the emperor. His face has been extremely pale these past few days. The governor's achievement was inseparable from the life-and-death struggles of his soldiers."

Moreover, many military men in the army today are arrogant and will do anything for personal gain. To win over and solidify the morale of the soldiers, Commander Li made numerous promises, some of which remain unfulfilled. Now, with this incident, things are truly difficult.

"Since that's the case, and everyone feels that their achievements haven't been recorded enough, why not raise this issue with the court and the emperor? Given Li Jiedu's position, I don't think anyone can be deceived," Xu Tian said, somewhat puzzled.

“This matter is not so simple; you don’t understand the subtleties involved.” Zheng Xie shook his head again.

"The regional military governors in Hebei have not yet been completely pacified, so the imperial court and palace naturally do not want other regional military governors to become too powerful."

Since Han Gong's article has already been issued, it's conceivable that it must have been reviewed by the Emperor beforehand and ultimately approved. Considering this, there's a possibility that the palace and the court intended to suppress Li Jiedu.

The ways of officialdom are indeed complex, but what he said is quite plausible. Emperors throughout history have enjoyed playing the game of balance, creating factions even where none existed in the court. If the entire nation, both inside and outside the court, were in harmony, the emperor probably wouldn't be able to sleep.

Han Yu was ordered to record the events of the pacification of Huaixi. If there were any bias in his account, he might have received a hint from the emperor and deliberately written it that way. The saying "merit overshadows the ruler" has been true since ancient times.

From this perspective, although the emperor and Li Su were related by marriage and shared the same surname, the emperor was not entirely at ease with him.

It's normal to be worried; the Li family has had a lot of dramatic and scandalous affairs over the past two hundred years.

Siblings killing each other, mothers killing children, fathers killing children—it happens again and again. Isn't it rumored that the current emperor also murdered his father to seize power? If this happens between brothers and parents, what about others?

After much thought, there's too little information, and it could be from any angle.

"Since this is likely the intention of those above, those below have no choice but to accept it. This matter shouldn't have much impact on you, Brother Zheng, right?"

“I am not a military man. Although I participated in the pacification of Cai, my contribution was very limited and could not have much influence.”

"In that case, Brother Zheng, you might as well do your job well and wait and see."

"Of course, this is the only way. However, my concern is not only about this matter, but also about Zheng Zhu, who is also involved in this matter." Zheng Xie mentioned Zheng Zhu again.

"This man often complained to the military governor about the unfair treatment he received from the court, saying that the court had mistreated the military governor and others. He also attacked Pei Du and Han Yu, saying that they had deceived the emperor and abused their power. His words attracted the support of many people, which further intensified the matter."

"This person has gotten involved again? His intentions are truly malicious; it's a classic case of a petty person getting their way," Xu Tian sighed.

At the same time, one has to admire Zheng Zhu's methods. Although his character is not very upright, he is indeed very clever. It's practically an open conspiracy.

Zheng Xie continued, "Last month, Zheng Zhu encouraged Li Jiedu to submit a memorial to the court recommending his generals and officials in order to win over the people. He recommended more than a hundred people at once, but the memorial was suppressed by the palace and there was no response."