The officials entered the Hongwen Hall and sat down according to their seats. There were nearly a hundred people in the hall, and the seats were clearly divided. The left is literary and the right is military, ranked according to official rank and seniority. The emperor's seat was originally supposed to be there, but he did not come today, so the throne was vacant. There were three poufs in front of the seat, prepared for Changsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling and Wei Zheng respectively.
It goes without saying that Changsun Wuji's status is great. Today's chief minister, Li Shimin, said, "I get most of the credit from this person in the world." Fang Xuanling and Wei Zheng, in Li Shimin's words, before Zhenguan, Fang Xuanling was the first in credit; after Zhenguan, , Wei Zheng had no one to his right.
These three people are the three undisputed bosses in the court today.
The chief seat of the military is not Li Ji's, but Yuchi Jingde's. Li is one of the four heroes of Jingnan and Kaiyuan, followed by Li Ji, Duan Zhixuan, Cheng Zhijie and others. On the civilian side, Chu Suiliang, the chief secretary of the Cabinet Office, sat down to record every word and deed of the meeting, followed by the Prime Minister of the Cabinet and the officials of the three provinces and six ministries.
When I entered the Hongwen Hall, I saw a strict hierarchy and order. Without any suspense, Qin Mubai sat in the last position. Changsun Wuji and Wei Zheng took the lead and sat down. The seat next to them was empty, and Fang Xuanling still didn't show up.
"Masters." Changsun Wuji raised his hands and called out loudly, and the scene became quiet. He said, "Today, I and other important officials of the imperial court gathered together to discuss one thing. I think you all already know it, that is, the Lanzhou War. Question. According to previous rules, Chu Suiliang will take notes in order to record everyone's opinions.
"Yes, Situ." Chu Suiliang responded, holding the pen in his hand.
"Next, I would like to ask Zheng Guogong Xuancheng (Wei Zheng's nickname is Xuancheng) to express his opinion first." Changsun Wuji said.
"Situ, how can we open this meeting like this?" Old Wei Zheng's eyes were dim and tears were streaming down his face, but his words were still sonorous and full of force, and he immediately retorted.
Everyone was surprised for a while, then Changsun Wuji calmly said: "Then according to Duke Xuancheng's wishes, how should this meeting be held?"
"This meeting has been held twice, but no results have been reached. It's just a matter of passing the blame and being vague. How can we be efficient in doing things like this? By the time we have a clear discussion, there will be a river of blood in Lanzhou! Wei Zheng raised his hands and said like playing a drum, "In my humble opinion, there is no need to speak one by one from the prime minister down to the cabinet. In this way, after the prime minister has spoken, it is difficult for the officials below to put forward any contrary opinions; the general. How dare the subordinate general say no after he has spoken? Such a meeting is nothing more than a perfunctory way of doing things for the sake of human dignity and official position. "
"So what?" Changsun Wuji spread his hands and said, "Isn't this how cabinet meetings were held in the past?"
"It just won't work this time." Wei Zheng waved his hands stubbornly and said loudly, "Since the Cabinet has invited all the important officials from both the government and the public, we cannot let them keep silent. This matter is so important that there is no need to elaborate on it. If you listen to both, you will be enlightened, and if you listen to others, you will be dark, and everyone must express their opinions.”
"Then if everyone gets into a quarrel with Hui Yun, will it be a loss of decency? What can we do?" Changsun Wuji said impatiently. This Wei Zheng disgusted him now. Originally, Changsun Wuji wanted to use his power and influence to gain the upper hand. Few of the following officials would dare to openly challenge him. He expected the worst outcome, that is, Wei Zheng would advocate for the war, so he asked him to speak first, and then he refuted him righteously. This was a preemptive strike.
Unexpectedly, this Wei Zheng didn't play according to the routine at all, which made Changsun Wuji very angry but not easy to get angry.
Qin Mubai sat in the last seat and listened to the two people arguing for a few words. He was secretly happy and thought: There are two chief and assistant ministers here. Wei Zheng, a bad-tempered old man who has always been the emperor, does not give him the face. How can he treat his eldest grandson Wu? Don't take it seriously? Well now, it seems that he and Changsun Wuji are on the same page. The opponent of Changsun Wuji is my ally... Well, the opportunity has come!
Qin Mubai stood up, bowed to the stage, and said, "My dear husbands, I have a suggestion that can reconcile your differences."
Changsun Wuji and Wei Zheng glanced at Qin Mubai together. Wei Zheng rolled his eyes and asked, "Who came out to speak?"
"Farewell, Qin Mubai, who is under the command of the Governor of Lanzhou."
"Oh, Qin Mubai, tell me." Before Changsun Wuji could speak, Wei Zheng raised his hand and signaled Qin Mubai to speak.
Changsun Wuji was so angry that he really wanted to throw Wei Zheng out.
"Thank you, Mr. Xuancheng." Qin Mubai raised his hand and said, "Since we want everyone to express their opinions, why not invite all the officers and generals present to vote anonymously."
"How to vote anonymously?" Many people asked together.
"It's very simple." Qin Mubai smiled and said, "If you agree with Lanzhou's participation in the war, just draw a circle; if you disagree, just draw a cross. There is no need to sign, and a circle and a cross can't tell the handwriting. In this way, we can let everyone know the handwriting. Everyone expresses what they really think. This is called... democratic voting!"
"Nonsense!" Changsun Wuji immediately became angry and shouted, "If that's the case, what's the point of being a prime minister?"
"What are you so anxious about, Situ!" Wei Zheng turned his face and glanced at Changsun Wuji with great dissatisfaction, and said, "According to what you said, all major affairs in the world are handled by you alone, Changsun Wuji, and you are still pretending to do it. What do we people want to do? I think the method proposed by Qin Mubai is very good. Even if it is not the final word, it at least represents the will of the people and can be used as an important reference. "
"Wei Zheng, what are you talking about!" Changsun Wuji said angrily, "According to what you said, a certain person is going to monopolize the government?... You can't imagine what kind of democratic voting you can do! How can such a major state matter be used? … A roundabout way of voting?”
"Then what should we do according to your wishes?" Wei Zheng said coldly, "How about you invite His Majesty the Emperor to come out and make a decision? Or maybe you invite King Jin, who oversees the country, to say a few words?"
"Insolent! You clearly know that His Majesty the Emperor is seriously ill in bed and that King Jin is still young. How can you be so cunning and disrespectful?" Changsun Wuji was a little angry.
"Then it's over!" Wei Zheng spread his hands and said, "Since His Majesty has not come out to make a decision, and there is no official crown prince named Changsun Wuji, you are only assisting the King of Jin to supervise the country, you are not the King of Jin to supervise the country. ! We are not all dead yet. You cannot have the final say in all matters."
"Wei Zheng... you!" Changsun Wuji almost choked to death from his mouthful of spicy water. He pointed at Wei Zheng and was speechless for a moment, his face turned red.
Many were holding back laughter. This Wei Zheng has always been like this. Let alone Changsun Wuji, even if the emperor was sitting in front of him, he still dared to point and curse without any ambiguity.
There is no shame in eating turtles in front of Wei Zheng. It's just that Changsun Wuji couldn't bear this tone anymore and was about to have an attack. Li Daozong came out and said: "Okay, Situ and Shizhong, you two husbands should stop quarreling. Isn't it just a matter of casting a vote? It's just to see what everyone's wishes are, and I didn't say that the vote will count. It's just that It’s just a reference, so there’s no need to argue like this. In my opinion, why don’t we take a vote? Changsun Situ, are you afraid of everyone’s vote?”
"Of course I'm not afraid." When Li Daozong said this, he hit Changsun Wuji's weakness. He took a breath and nodded, "Okay, then... anonymous voting, the meaning of the vote! Chu Suiliang will be responsible for the counting and notarization. "
"good."
The clerks immediately prepared pens, inks and other things to serve. Everyone drew circles, crosses and other marks on a small piece of paper, folded it and handed it to Chu Suiliang. Then, they each returned to their seats and watched Chu Suiliang's statistics together with bated breath.
"Yes, one vote."
"Yes, three votes..."
"No... here are six votes!"
…
As Chu Suiliang's statistics progressed, everyone's hearts were in a state of confusion. Qin Mubai also felt increasingly unsure. In fact, he didn't have the slightest certainty that he could win by using this method. However, through this method, Changsun Wuji's personal influence and intimidation can be diluted. To weaken your opponent is to strengthen yourself, this is what you can do.
The vote count was coming to an end. To Qin Mubai's surprise, the yes votes and the no votes were evenly matched, with not much difference. Seeing that Chu Suiliang was about to finish counting the votes in his hand, the number comparison between the two sides turned out to be forty-six to forty-five.
The vote against going to war was only one vote ahead.
Changsun Wuji's face became a little ugly. In the past two meetings, only a few people including Li Ji advocated sending troops to oppose his opinions. He didn't expect that many people, who on the surface admired Changsun Wuji so much that they only followed his lead, actually had other ideas in their hearts.
This is simply a slap in Changsun Wuji’s face!
"There are three votes left... two votes for it. Forty-seven to forty-six, the support vote is one vote ahead. This last vote... is a bit interesting. It is against Lanzhou sending troops, and it has a signature." Chu Suiliang looked at it. He glanced at Wei Zheng and said, "Xuan Chenggong signed his name and voted to oppose the use of troops in Lanzhou. In this way, the two sides are at a stalemate."
Everyone was shocked, and Changsun Wuji looked at Wei Zheng in surprise. He didn't expect that this bad old man had the same opinion as him after he had been making trouble for a long time.
"What do you want me to do?" Wei Zheng said sternly, "Wei is not dealing with the situation and the person. I just oppose Lanzhou's use of troops. What's wrong?"
Qin Mubai was a little bit dumbfounded now, annoyed and funny at the same time. He originally thought that Wei Zheng would be an ally of his, but unexpectedly, he and Changsun Wuji were on the same side.
This is beyond everyone’s expectations!
It's good now that the two sides are drawing, and it's clear that they are at a stalemate. However, Qin Mubai was already very satisfied with the "draw" situation. At least, now Changsun Wuji has no excuse to make the final decision that Lanzhou will not go to war.
"Xuancheng, now you can tell me, why don't you let Lanzhou send troops?" Changsun Wuji sighed secretly and threw the hot mountain bamboo to Wei Zheng, asking him to come forward to offend others. Anyway, this bad old man has never been afraid of offending others.
Wei Zheng did not hesitate and said: "Then I will tell you my opinion. At the beginning of Zhenguan, I, the Tang Dynasty, had hidden soldiers to govern the schools, practiced martial arts and cultivated literature to govern the people's livelihood, thus making the people all over the world live and work in peace and contentment. In the past two years, , wars broke out repeatedly, the treasury was empty, and the army and the people suffered. The struggle with Tubo was nothing more than Tuconghun. Now, since Tuyuhun has belonged to the Tang Dynasty, why did we continue to fight with it before? Tubo sent envoys to the Tang Dynasty to ask for marriage and peace, but because of their neglect, they left with resentment in their sleeves... "
"Wait a minute!" Li Daozong suddenly spoke up, interrupted Wei Zheng, and said, "Xiangong Wei, what do you mean by 'neglecting' him? What you are saying is that the officials of Honglu Temple did not treat him well. Or is it that my daughter, Li Daozong, is not worthy of his Tubo Zanpu Qi Zong Nong Zan?”