Wu Mei asked Banmei to hold the sleeping Princess Taiping Li Lingyue, and then slowly left the East Palace. As the Taibao, Li Yifu, Hua Meng and Mang Zhong, who were ordered by Li Hong, sent the queen off.
Just after taking two steps, Wu Mei suddenly turned her head and looked at the east wall of the East Palace and said, "What do you plan to do with such a large area? Also, do you really not want Changlefang?"
"No one lives in Changlefang anymore. From now on, Taiping's mansion will be in Prince Pu's Mansion. The current Changlefang and this large area will be renovated." Li Hong said with a smile.
"Just make it. I hope your father will agree with your decision." Wu Mei shook her head. Now everyone knows Li Hong's thoughts. This boy only has the position of Shangshu Ling in his eyes.
And she didn't hope that Li Hong could succeed Li Shimin and become the second minister of the Tang Dynasty.
Moreover, whatever Li Hong does now is not within the rights and responsibilities of a Jingzhao governor, let alone the rights and responsibilities of a minister of the Ministry of Revenue. It is completely the right that a high-ranking official should exercise.
Watching his mother leave, Li Hong continued to sit there and prepared to fish. Next to him, Xu Jingzong, with the help of his grandson Xu Yanbo, took a fishing rod and sat down with Li Hong to start fishing.
"Is there anything else? My mother actually invited you over because of the court meeting tomorrow. Tell me, what's the matter? You never suffer. After you help me make plans, there must be something waiting for me to help you. "Li Hong stared at the water and said calmly.
Xu Jingzong smiled bitterly and shook his head. He asked him to do something for him. Although he said he had selfish motives, he was punished miserably by His Royal Highness in the end.
"Your Highness, even if I don't analyze tomorrow's court today, I will ask you for help." After Xu Jingzong put the fishing rod into the water, he stopped looking at it and kept staring at Li Hong's side. Face.
"What's the matter? I can't do anything beyond the scope of my authority. By the way, should I call you Xu Banchao? It's only during this period that I discovered that you actually have so many recommenders above the court." Li Hong He had always been as hard-hearted towards Xu Jingzong. He knew that otherwise, he would probably have fallen for Xu Jingzong, a sinister man, without knowing it.
Xu Jingzong could only respond with a wry smile and said: "Your Highness, I know that you plan to go to the Western Regions. For no other reason than that, I just hope that you can take Xu Yanbo with you when you travel to the Western Regions."
At the end of his speech, Xu Jingzong's face was full of solemn expression.
"That's it, why do you want him to go to the Western Regions with me?" Li Hong's fishing skills are not very good. Back then, he, Li Zhi and Wu Mei sat in Taiye Pond for a whole morning, and the three of them caught a total of Two fish.
But I don’t know what happened today. The fish seemed to be lining up waiting to be baited, one at a time.
Xu Yanbo looked at Li Hong's raised fishing rod, quickly grabbed the fishing line, and began to untie the lively fish from the hook.
"Please be selfish. I once followed the late emperor, and then received His Majesty's grace. Now I am old, but if the children of the Xu family want to continue to serve the royal family, they must not only be loyal, but also capable. Now Yan I have enough knowledge but not enough experience. I sincerely hope that Your Highness can take him to practice and have more opportunities to learn by your side. This will be his blessing." Xu Jingzong's fishing rod was almost caught by a fish. Go, but Xu Jingzong held the fishing rod motionless, watching the fish swimming under the water.
Li Hong watched Xu Yanbo help him put the bait on the fishhook, threw the fishhook into the water again, and said: "You are a smart man. You know the purpose of my trip to the four towns of Anxi, so I said this trip is not necessary." It will be as easy as my trip to Taiyi City. This trip is not about life or death, but I am afraid that I will not be able to decide whether it is life or death. Are you mentally prepared if you follow me? Are you willing to give you a pile of bones when I come back?"
"Your Highness, I have put my life and death at risk for a long time. As long as I can follow Your Highness, I will be blessed even if I die in the Western Region." Xu Yanbo stood aside respectfully and interrupted in time to say to Li Hong.
Li Hong looked at Xu Yanbo's serious face, smiled and nodded to signal him to retreat. How could he not know what Xu Jingzong was thinking
In order to ensure the continuity of the family and ensure that the family can become a wealthy family, it is not enough for Xu Jingzong to be the prime minister. Instead, he needs future generations to become people close to the royal family, so that his family can prosper. , Only then can we be on an equal footing with the real wealthy families.
So to Xu Jingzong, sacrificing a grandson is nothing at all? The royal family is full of ruthlessness, but there are also people who are not. His Royal Highness the current prince is a person of temperament.
Even if Xu Yanbo dies in the Western Regions, the prince will never turn a blind eye to the decline of the Xu family. His other grandsons may step on Xu Yanbo's bones and reach the pinnacle of their official careers. They cannot become prime ministers who enter the council hall, but the governor of one party It's not impossible.
In this way, sacrificing one person in exchange for the favor of the royal family is worth it no matter how you calculate it. For the prosperity of the family, as a descendant of the Xu family, you must have this awareness.
"Okay, I agree to this for the time being. You realize it faster than Dai Zhide and know the true meaning of the times making heroes, instead of being like him who sticks to tradition and doesn't know how to innovate." Li Hong nodded and continued to let Xu Yanbo Help him pick the fish off the hook.
"More ministers, Your Highness." Xu Jingzong and his grandson Xu Yanbo thanked him happily at the same time.
"It's too early to say thank you. Whether you can achieve a career in the Western Regions depends on you. If you follow my group in the Western Regions and you are not the material I want, I will send you away without hesitation. Go back to Chang'an. But having said that, I have provided you with a platform. Whether it is a mule or a horse, it all depends on your talent and hard work." Li Hong dropped the fishing rod in his hand and took the towel from Xia Zhi and wiped it. hand.
Then he looked at Xu Jingzong, who was also standing up, and said angrily: "Take it out, don't hide it, Xu Banchao."
Xu Jingzong could only respond with a wry smile. This Crown Prince is getting smarter and smarter. Just like he knows him well, he also knows himself very well.
"Your Highness is serious. If I were Xu Banchao, I would have been imprisoned in Dali Temple by His Highness. How can I have the leisure to accompany you to fish here?" Xu Jingzong said, taking out a pamphlet from his arms and handing it to Li Hong.
Li Hong took the brochure and flipped through it while slowly walking towards the sleeping hall, Cheng'en Hall.
Xu Jingzong's explanation voice came to his ears: "None of these ministers have made any lies, and they have not even added a word. They are all oral accounts of the parties involved, including the bribes, which have been verified."
Xu Jingzong also knew that this pamphlet about Dai Zhide was the reason why His Highness called him.
Moreover, he did not wonder why His Highness the Crown Prince knew exactly who he was looking for and what he was talking about, and how he was able to obtain evidence that Dai Zhide had secret dealings with the Japanese state.
"It's fine if it's true. If there's even half a lie, if I get slapped in the face in court tomorrow, just wait until the whole family enters Dali Temple." Li Hong looked through it casually, then handed it to the person next to him. of pure white.
After returning to the dormitory, Xu Jingzong and Xu Yanbo said goodbye. Sitting on the sofa, Li Hong flipped through the booklet carefully. What was different from Bai Chun's 'Jingwei' investigation was that in Xu Jingzong's booklet , there are more people who plan to speak for Dai Zhide in the court tomorrow.
"One night, check whether these people are really related to Dai Zhide and whether they are related to the Japanese country. Xu Jingzong has been away from the court for many years, but his influence is not comparable to that of your 'Jingwei'. It seems that 'Jingwei' still has drawbacks," Li Hong said helplessly, patting the booklet in his hand.
The 'Jingwei' could not completely monitor all matters in the officialdom, especially the mutual protection of officials, unless the 'Jingwei' were allowed to absorb ministers above the court, but this was absolutely not possible, and I was the first to object.
If court officials are absorbed, the nature of the 'Jingwei' organization will change.
Yushitai was talking about things, but he had a bad relationship with me. I thought there was a lot of information here, and it was possible that Yushitai had provided it to Xu Jingzong.
Bai Chunbi faced the two pamphlets, frowned his snow-white forehead, and said: "Compared to the two, Xu Jingzong is more involved in interactions between officials, while Jingwei is good at mediating with Japanese envoys. In terms of walking, it is impossible to say who is better or worse in this comparison, after all, the 'Jingwei' cannot penetrate into the court. "
"Yeah, so I don't blame you for this. It's because I'm too demanding. I can't let you do the Yushitai thing. In this way, the 'Jingwei' will deteriorate and develop out of control. That's it. Well, in the future, try to focus your energy on Tubo and the Four Towns of Anxi. Sharing intelligence with Cheetah and Jingzhe and Yangwu will sometimes restrict many things, so you need your 'Jingwei' to make up for it."
"Yes, Fang Zhan and Heng Qiao took away two-thirds of the 'Jingwei' and communicated with the 'Iron Buddha' you built several times. It was basically smooth and can handle communications in the vast Western Region." Bai Chun said lightly.
"That's good, the 'Iron Buddha Tu' will follow me when the time comes. The left and right Qingdao forces will stay in Taiyi City. The East Palace will be demolished, so I will take away all the other six services except the left and right Qingdao forces." There were only him and Bai Chun in the living room. They looked at the sunset and said lightly.
"How long do you plan to leave?" Hearing Li Hong's words, the sensitive Bai Chun turned around quickly and stared at Li Hong's clear eyes motionlessly.
"I don't know, one or two years? Maybe three or four years. Now everyone thinks that I just went there for meritorious service, just for the position of Shangshu Ling. But no one knows that I want to solve Anxi once and for all. If the problem of the four towns is not resolved, it will be even more difficult to change it when the military power and local jurisdiction are consolidated into the Jiedushi." Li Hong looked out the window at the sunset. In the East Palace, which was originally on a low ground, it was no longer visible.
(End of chapter)