Struggle in the early Tang Dynasty

"Why?"

"Just yesterday, at the early court, with Fang Xuanling at the head, a group of ministers came together to remonstrate, and named kings with different surnames. It never ended well. In order to protect the meritorious officials, the King of Qin should no longer participate in the court affairs. At the court, everyone said that it is I was also powerless, so I finally had to agree to them."

Guo Ye understood everything when he heard this, and said, "So, did I trade the rest of my life for this moment of glory?"

"You can think so too." His Majesty Li Er gritted his teeth and said, "At that time, I was so angry that I asked everyone to bow down to the King of Qin to thank you for your unworldly achievements, but they actually agreed!"

Guo Ye said helplessly: "That's fine, then the humble minister will retire early and become a rich and sage."

"Uh...Guo Aiqing doesn't have to be disheartened. You rest at home for a few years, and when the limelight passes, I will use you again?"

"Then what is the identity of the humble minister?"

"What's wrong with this identity? The identity of Wang with a different surname is indeed sensitive, but there is no solution at all. In the next three to five years, I will find a fault with you and demote you to Duke Qin again, wouldn't it be enough?"

"Then why don't you catch Wei Chen's mistakes now?"

"That can't be done. First, what's the face of the imperial court when you go up and down like this? Second, even if you are immediately demoted to the state, the courtiers will not allow you to take power in a short time. Then why bother?" ?”

Guo Ye smiled bitterly: "It seems that I can only be an idle prince for a few years."

Speaking of this, he suddenly remembered something, and said: "I still have something unclear, and I want to ask Your Majesty."

"You said."

"Weichen saw Wei Ting, Shangshu of the Ministry of Punishment, in the welcoming team. What's the reason?"

"It's hard to say about this matter. Before we retreated, Wei Ting's food was indeed not supplied, which delayed the time. However, I sent someone to investigate afterwards, and there was a reason for it. There is no real evidence to say that he harbored evil intentions. Even I have doubts in my heart, so what can I do?"

"Even if you don't punish him, it's okay to transfer him from the position of Shangshu of the Ministry of Punishment, right?"

"Where is the transfer? All the ministers have sharp eyes. If the transfer position is not as good as that of the Minister of the Ministry of Justice, they will definitely say that I have suspicions about the king, which will be detrimental to the situation in the court."

Guo Ye said: "By the way, there is also King Qi. At that time, he didn't do any tricks in Chang'an?"

"Well, it was also his good fortune. Xue Yantuo rebelled, and people in the capital were panicked. Fang Xuanling asked the prince's order, and immediately sent five hundred imperial guards to protect King Qi. Even if he had some evil idea, he couldn't use it."

"This... this can only be said to be a blessing for the country."

His Majesty Li Er said: "Afterwards, I thought about it again. There are unforeseen circumstances. My only grown-up son is the King of Qi. If something happens to the crown prince, the country still has to be given to him. Therefore, there are still some things that need to be done. It’s really not worth looking into.”

I don't know what stimulated His Majesty Li Er, but he actually softened his heart after killing his brother.If there is no close relationship, Guo Ye can't persuade his father to do something to his own son, can he?He could only say: "Your Majesty is benevolent, presumably even if King Qi has objections, he will eventually repent."

"I hope so. Well, let's not talk about him. Starting tomorrow, you will no longer be able to participate in the government affairs. If you have any unfinished business, please bring it up now. I will try my best to arrange it for you."

Guo Ye thought for a while, and said: "There are two main things. One, the failure of the Eastern Expedition, an important reason is that we missed Fusang. I would like to ask Your Majesty to learn a lesson and destroy Fusang and Baekje first." , and then attack Goguryeo.”

His Majesty Li Er smiled meaningfully, and said: "Your request is a bit of selfishness. Is it for Wei Guogong's righteous daughter Yu Nuannuan? I have inquired about your affairs in Fuyu Kingdom. "

"How can this be regarded as self-serving for public benefit?" Guo Ye said lazily: "At best, it is a matter of public and private benefit. Exterminating Fusang is a good thing for Datang and Fuyu Kingdom."

His Majesty Li Er said: "That's true, well, I promise you. The navy of the Tang Dynasty is almost completely destroyed, and it will take three to five years to rebuild. You are handsome, destroy Fusang for me."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

"What's the second thing?"

"The second thing is about people..." Guo Ye cut it short and told the story of Lei Shuyao.

His Majesty Li Er frowned after hearing this, and said: "This is a big matter, I can't agree to you easily. I still have to discuss with the important ministers."

"As it should be."

"How about this, after returning to the palace today, I will immediately worry about the ministers and discuss this matter, and you will also participate."

"According to the order!"

His Majesty Li Er kept his word, and when he arrived in the city, he ordered other people to go back to each house to find their mothers, and a group of important officials were recruited into Wangbei Pavilion by him.

These important ministers include Li Jing, the left servant of the Shangshu, Fang Xuanling, the right servant of the Shangshu, Wei Zheng, the Minister of the Ministry of punishment, Wei Ting, the minister of the Ministry of punishment, Kong Yingda, the minister of the Ministry of officials, Duan Zhixuan, the minister of the Ministry of household affairs, Yuchi Gongzong, the minister of the Ministry of war and Li Daozong, the minister of the Ministry of industry , and the freshly released Minister of Rites Xu Jingzong.

In addition, it is the king of Qin, Guo Ye, who has a respected status and no real power.

First, Guo Ye recounted Lei Shuyao's story again, and His Majesty Li Er said: "The Liao people have always been rebellious, and now there is Yang Sheng, who is ambitious and not a fuel-efficient lamp. Big trouble. I don't know why all the lovers taught me?"

Fang Xuanling said: "My minister thinks that it is better to be still than to move. Now the three states of Meiqiong and Ya, where the Liao people gather, are building ships for our Datang Navy. This matter is related to the success or failure of another expedition to the East. It is not appropriate at this time. Out of season."

Guo Ye said: "I have [-] prefectures and [-] counties in the Tang Dynasty. Why did I only choose these three prefectures for shipbuilding?"

Fang Xuanling said: "Although there are many state capitals in my Tang Dynasty, the Yangtze River and the sea cannot be separated from the Yangtze River and the sea if I want to build a big ship to conquer Goguryeo. So, there are only [-] or [-] suitable state capitals left."

His Majesty Li Er said: "It is my idea to choose these three states to build ships. In order to levy Goguryeo, other state capitals have undertaken a lot of corvee and military expenses. Only these three states have not been affected. Therefore, this time I decided to let These three states build ships."

"So that's the case. However, I think that since the three states are in charge of shipbuilding, there is no room for loss. If Yang Sheng rebels, wouldn't these ships be built in vain?"

"Hey! Lord Qin is too worrying."

Li Daozong said: "I don't know if Yang Sheng has the intention to unify the Liaoren, but even if he really has that intention, it will take a few years when he really unifies the Liaoren. What can we do? We Datang are still afraid of him?"

This time even Yuchi Jingde was not on Guo Ye's side. He said: "The Liao people have always been rebellious. It doesn't matter if there is Yang Sheng or not. However, the fighting power of the Liao people has never been very good. They really dare to make trouble." Just send troops to wipe them out, don’t rush.”

Wei Zheng coughed twice, and said: "King Qin just listened to Lei Shuyao's side story, who knows if what the woman said is true or not? Even if she deliberately framed Yang Sheng, I don't know. With such a little evidence, I will attack Liaoren , I’m afraid the truth is not on our side.”

Guo Ye said: "Should we just watch Yang Sheng do evil?"

His Majesty Li Er said with a wry smile: "It's not like you don't know the relationship between the Liao people and the court..."

Wei Ting said: "Duke Qin is so anxious to do things for Lei Shuyao, did she promise you something?"

Li Daozong said: "What else can you promise? The king of Qin is lustful and famous all over the world. It must be Lei Shuyao who promised his daughter's body to him? King Qin, in my opinion, you can be more or less the same, state affairs and children's personal affairs , it is better to separate."

……

People were unanimous, not only did not support Guo Ye's request, but also mixed with cynicism.

Although what these people said was not unreasonable, Guo Ye faintly felt that these people did not want him to continue to interfere in the government affairs, even if what he said today was about other things, they would still be rejected by them.

Guo Ye was quite disheartened for a while, he said: "Since everyone disagrees, then I will not force it. In the future, Yang Sheng will raise troops and make the three states corrupt, so don't blame Guo for being unpredictable!"

Chapter 2007 Ten Trials

Guo Ye said so, of course, there is some basis.He vaguely remembered that in history, after His Majesty Li Er's conquest of Goguryeo failed, there was a large-scale peasant uprising in Sichuan due to ordering shipbuilding.

Although the history has been changed beyond recognition by him now, the officialdom in Sichuan has not changed much.Things like uprisings have always been officials forcing the people to rebel, and the people have to rebel.It's hard to say whether a peasant uprising will break out in a few years.

Sichuan is corrupt, wouldn't a careerist like Yang Sheng seize this great opportunity and take advantage of the momentum?The combination of these two things is really enough for Datang to drink a pot.

Therefore, when he heard the news that the imperial court was building a ship in Sanzhou, he became more determined to trouble Yang Sheng.