Established a millennium family since King Wu defeated Zhou

Chapter 904 Prince Wei
This is true of empires with vast territories and large populations.

The Western Expedition to the Yan Kingdom seems to be a major event that the whole country should pay attention to, but in fact it is not. For the Western Yan Kingdom, this major event is almost related to the survival of the country. For the Tang Dynasty, it is just a game that can afford to lose. During the expedition, the only ones who have been paying attention to this matter are the Ministry of War and the Privy Council.

The memorial from Anxi entered the center of the empire, passed through the Lifan Academy, and reached the hands of Li Shimin. After reading the memorial in his hand, Li Shimin was very angry. The prime ministers in the Taiji Palace could feel Li Shimin's emotions, but in the end Li Shimin took all Suppressing his emotions, he said: "The customs of the Western Regions have been around for a long time. After returning to the Tang Dynasty, the customs cannot be changed. I should understand that I should send the edict to the Anxi Protectorate and ask the King of Hejian County to send an envoy to Shenlin City on my behalf. Celebrate the opening of the Uncensored Conference.”

Seeing that Li Shimin was not carried away and launched an expedition with no results, the prime ministers who sat down breathed a sigh of relief.

Everyone here is very busy and has endless things to do. Li Shimin's lack of any prime minister will lead to the accumulation of court affairs.

……

There is a very special person among the prime ministers, that is, Luo Xuanchen, the Minister of Civil Affairs and the Counselor of Political Affairs, did not participate in almost half of the hundreds of political hall collegial meetings held in Zhenguan in the 89th year.

Because he is often away from Chang'an.

He is the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, responsible for selecting officials for the imperial court, and is known as the Heavenly Official. Although he ranks low in the political affairs hall, he has great power. If he was just the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel in the past one or two hundred years, the scope of his power would be roughly the same. It's clear, but now things have changed dramatically.

That is the large-scale implementation of the imperial examination. How to promote this policy is a very serious issue. This determines the level and quality of officials in the Tang Dynasty in the next decades or even a century. It is a veritable century-old plan.

"Beep, beep."

What is very counterintuitive is that the imperial examination did not actually pose such a big threat to the gentry.

Although he had nothing to do to show his courtesy, Luo Xuanchen knew that he had something to do, so he solemnly asked: "What's the important thing?"

As long as you sign up for the imperial examination, you can rely on what you have learned since childhood and the knowledge of coming from a wealthy family to become a Jinshi, a Jinshi who is to be awarded an official by the court.

In the Hall of Officials, Luo Xuanchen was carefully looking at the performance assessment of state officials at the end of the eighth year of Zhenguan, as well as the information on candidate officials who had not yet been appointed.

Luo Xuanchen raised his brows. Although Luo Xuanchen's status and reputation in the scholarly community allowed him to call him "sir", usually only those who were obviously younger would do so, and most would call him Luo Shangshu.

In the past, if the gentry wanted to become an official, they needed intricate exchanges of interests. It was so easy to recommend. Many talented scholars even had to work as aides to princes, kings, or relatives before they could embark on the road to officialdom. .

But now?

A set of footsteps walked in from the outside, and then walked to Luo Xuanchen. Luo Xuanchen looked up and saw that he was one of the chief officials of the Ministry of Personnel. With a flattering smile on his face, he said: "Master Shangshu."

Because studying is expensive, for the gentry everywhere, they hardly see any disadvantages.

……

Jinshi subjects must be selected by counties, states, and officials. They must have good appearance, talent, and moral character. This is obviously the selection of important officials.

Especially after Luo Su proposed to separate the list and subject examination for the Hu people, Luo Xuanchen thought of doing the same within the Tang Dynasty, because the education level within the Tang Dynasty was also very uneven. In some states and counties, For example, the states in Hexi and the states in Lingnan may not produce a single Jinshi in a hundred years.

Why is the Minister of Personnel called the Heavenly Official? Because he is really powerful. As long as Luo Xuanchen is willing, he can reasonably and legally make a scholar unable to become an official in his life.

Because the resistance is too great, several areas with very strong traditional gentry, areas with the highest level of education, in other words, places with the largest number of court officials, are opposed to this policy, and the reasons are also very just, "for national election" Talent, based on talent, is the court discriminating against our background? "

Being fair and aboveboard, coming up through ability, this is the right way, this is a new circle of contempt, that is, I am a Jinshi, and you came up relying on the shadow of ancestors.

Because of the previous economic situation, it was better for the gentry to serve as local officials. However, with the development of emphasizing internal affairs over external affairs, the power of the central government became more and more important. Scholars from all over the world headed for the central government, and even officials from other states appeared. In front of Beijing officials, it is said that one automatically takes a lower level.

After the bankruptcy of the policy of selecting scholars by state, the rollout of the imperial examination in various places can be said to be relatively smooth.

The chief looked around, and then whispered: "Master Shangshu, I have an invitation handed over. It's from the Palace of Prince Wei."

The children of aristocratic families compete in everything, and the status of Jinshi will be a new thing for them to compare with.

Luo Xuanchen summoned many people in several key states of the Tang Dynasty to investigate the acceptance of this policy and to see how it would be more appropriate to implement a complete imperial examination in local areas. Therefore, he did not stay in Chang'an for half of the time, but did research After a long time, Luo Xuanchen canceled the idea.

It turned out to be the case.

No wonder the principal spoke so attentively. He didn't expect that he was here to establish relations with King Wei.

Luo Xuanchen's thoughts turned and he said slowly: "The King of Wei and I have never had any friendship, and the prime minister and the vassal king should not meet in private. Please report back to the King of Wei."

After that, he stopped talking. When the principal saw this, he could only leave in anger, and it was true.

When the principal walked out, Luo Xuanchen's expression suddenly became serious.

This was not a good sign. What could the King of Wei do for asking him? He just wanted to make it easier for him when selecting officials. Since ancient times, princes have always had ulterior motives when making friends with ministers.

After Luo Xuanchen left the office, he thought for a moment and did not go back to his mansion. Instead, he turned around and went to the Prince Zhou's Mansion first.

After the death of Princess Zhao of Pingyang, Luo Xuanye moved to the Prince Zhou's Mansion in order to stop missing people.

When Luo Xuanye heard about Luo Xuanchen's sudden visit, he knew that there must be something going on. If it was just a daily gathering, he would definitely notify him in advance and call Luo Xuanling and Luo Xuanjing to come. Now that he came by himself, it might not be a trivial matter.

Sure enough, as soon as Luo Xuanchen entered the house, the solemn expression on his face foreshadowed something. After the two hurriedly entered the house, Luo Xuanchen immediately said: "Aye, today the King of Wei sent me an invitation and invited me to come over and have a drink. feast."

Luo Xuanye was shocked at first when he heard this, and then said slowly: "Fourth brother, you shouldn't come to me to talk about this. It's not good for you." What happened to Luo Xuanchen's visit to Luo Xuanye's house today was not King Wei will definitely know the secret, and King Wei is very favored now, which is indeed not a good thing for Luo Xuanchen.

But Luo Xuanchen didn't care, and said casually: "The worst thing is to remove me from the prime minister, but the prince is not wrong. The King of Wei has no great achievements or great virtues, but he directly seeks to seize the throne. This is not in line with my behavior." style."

Luo Xuanchen's words are very clear. Prince Li Chengqian is not bad. You, the King of Wei, are not very good. You have not made any great contributions to the Tang Dynasty. It is not that you will die if you don't fight for the throne. This is different from Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin. So, you, the King of Wei, are planning to Seizing the reserve position is really just looking for trouble.

If you, King Li Tai of Wei, really have Li Shimin's ability, I will help you without you having to tell me. But if you don't, then you are just thinking about Taozi.

Luo Xuanye was quite moved when he heard this and said: "Fourth brother, please don't talk about today's matter to anyone else. Don't get involved in the matter between the prince and King Wei. To be honest, there have been too many princes in history who were unable to inherit the throne." , His Majesty asked me to be the Crown Prince's Grand Master, so I will do it, but I have never thought of letting you get involved in the affairs of the Crown Prince's East Palace."

Luo Xuanchen understands Luo Xuanye's painstaking efforts. The reserve position is the source of trouble. With Luo's status, he won't get much from participating in it. Once he fails, he will lose too much.

Luo Xuanye added: "I have been going to the East Palace more recently. Seven years after Zhenguan, Jun Cheng said that the prince often cried, so I went to see him more often."

Luo Xuanchen's heart trembled, and he asked in a low voice: "Is the prince's injury so serious?"

The people don't understand royal affairs, how could senior officials like Luo Xuanchen not know about it.

After recovering from a serious illness in the seventh year of Zhenguan, Li Chengqian's foot disease began to affect his walking. Now at the end of the eighth year of Zhenguan, and starting from the ninth year of Zhenguan, Li Chengqian sometimes even drags his legs when walking. In other words, Li Chengqian really He became a lame, and his lameness became more and more serious.

This seriously affected Li Chengqian's mental health. He was not the kind of person with a strong will. If Luo Juncheng hadn't been by his side and a few sisters had enlightened him, Li Chengqian would have become autistic and twisted.

But even so, Li Chengqian often woke up in his sleep, holding his legs and crying.

Luo Xuanchen pondered for a moment and said: "Aye, you have to think of a solution. If you can't think of it, go to Lingtian Pavilion. Our ancestors will always make valuable suggestions."

Luo Xuanye nodded silently.

When Luo Xuanchen walked out of the palace, he turned around and looked at the majestic and profound palace regulations. The lanterns were hung high, but there was a hint of sadness. He got on the carriage and felt a little confused in his heart, "Can the Tang Dynasty really accept a crippled king?"

Li Shimin doesn't know, Luo Xuanye doesn't know, everyone doesn't know, but almost everyone is trying their best to make Li Chengqian believe that the leg will not affect his inheritance rights.

In order to prove that his regard for Li Chengqian had not changed at all, Li Shimin assigned Li Chengqian a luxurious group of teachers from the East Palace, almost every one of whom was a well-known and well-known figure.

Luo Xuanye thought for a long time and came to Lingtian Pavilion.

"Ancestor, please give me some advice. How can I cheer up the prince?"

Luo Su did not speak, but looked at Luo Xuanye's features carefully again, and said after a long time: "The emperor has equipped the prince with a teacher who looks luxurious on the surface, but in fact it is not.

The emperor wants to use the method of training himself to train Li Chengqian, but that is too difficult for others. Those who admonished Li Chengqian are too harsh. Although Li Chengqian is not a rotten tree, he is not a pillar either. If he is tempered, it will only break. You have to pay attention to this. .

Wei Zheng was famous in the world for his remonstrances. Although he often made Li Shimin angry, in fact, he was skillful in his remonstrances, but sometimes his skillful persuasion failed.

If you can get the emperor to transfer Wei Zheng and Li Jing into the East Palace, together with you, you may be able to restore Li Chengqian's confidence and stop worrying about his reserve all day long. "

This is not a simple matter. Li Shimin must be aware of this situation himself in order to achieve this goal.

Luo Xuanye left Lingtian Pavilion. Luo Su looked at Luo Xuanye's leaving figure and confirmed a few things. He slowly closed his eyes and began to recall the few people he had seen before, and then fixed his gaze on one person. Li Ke, King of Wu.

……

The atmosphere in the East Palace is very tense. There is a very bad trend in the East Palace now, that is, several ministers who taught Li Chengqian are imitating Wei Zheng.

Wei Zheng's status in the Zhenguan Dynasty was getting higher and higher. When Li Shimin commented on the prime ministers, he even said that he relied on Fang Du to conquer the world, Changsun Wuji to conquer the world, and Wei Zheng to rule the world.

This of course does not mean that Wei Zheng really contributed more to governing the world than Fang Xuanling, but it means that in Li Shimin's mind, Wei Zheng was already ranked alongside Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, and Changsun Wuji.

When Luo Juncheng walked into the East Palace, he heard Kong Yingda saying sternly: "Your Highness, do you want to imitate Emperor Yang Guang of Sui Dynasty?

Your Majesty's envoys have come to teach Your Highness, so I cannot sit back and watch Your Highness become desolate. I also ask Your Highness to quickly repel those sycophants who can only flatter you. "

Kong Yingda's voice and tone were so intense that Luo Juncheng felt his blood surge when he heard it. He quickly walked into the palace and saw that the prince was a little dazed and his face was red. It was obvious that he was ashamed of being scolded. Luo Juncheng He immediately shouted sharply at Kong Yingda: "Master Kong, are you intimidating the prince?"

Kong Yingda heard the sound and turned around to see it was Luo Juncheng. He still said sternly: "It turns out he is the prince of Zhoujun. As the prince's companion, he tolerates those sycophants who only have fun to appear around the prince. Is this right? ”

Luo Juncheng naturally did not accept this accusation, and immediately retorted: "Master Kong is a descendant of Saint Kong, doesn't he know the principle of teaching students in accordance with their aptitude?
Master Kong is your Majesty's minister. Don't you know that His Majesty said that as long as the prince can talk about principles, it's fine?
You scolded the prince so harshly, and what did you teach him?
Who is considered a sycophant in Master Kong’s words? Am I a sycophant? "

Although Luo Juncheng is not particularly old, he is already extremely tall and has a loud voice. At this moment, he is like roaring on the battlefield. He is so close to Kong Yingda that it makes Kong Yingda's eardrums buzz.

Luo Juncheng's attitude made Kong Yingda very angry. He threw up his sleeves angrily and left: "Since the Crown Prince said so, let your Majesty come and judge."

Li Chengqian was a little scared when he heard this. Ever since he became more and more inferior to his legs and feet, he didn't want to see Li Shimin, but Luo Juncheng whispered: "It's okay, my father is in the palace, and he will definitely make it difficult for these people." Let’s go.”

Li Chengqian felt relieved when he heard that Luo Xuanye was in the palace.

(End of this chapter)