Of course, in Li Xian's eyes, Li Sujie and Li Shangjin were nothing to worry about. Even if they truly sided with Li Hong, their influence was nothing compared to the world's scholars.
Fang Xianzhong looked at the prospective son-in-law who was smiling happily, and said with a whisker: "Besides, Prince Li Hong in Quanzhou on Lingnan Road, for his own selfish purposes, privately asked Li Chunfeng to build a luxurious ship for him, and the Ministry of Industry only paid for it. Five million taels of silver have already been spent on this matter, not including the money from the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Household Affairs. According to people from the Ministry of Industry, the so-called battleship built by the prince, Li Chunfeng, is better than the five-tooth battleship of the Tang Dynasty. It is twice as long, but its height is quite different. Could it be that the prince is enriching himself or making money for other purposes? "
"So we need to spread the word. After Li Hong returns to Chang'an, we must not let him enter Chang'an in glory like his father. Instead, let him face the situation when he stands in the court on the first day. These are difficult problems! How can he build just a few broken ships with more than ten million taels of silver? Even though he is the Minister of the Ministry of Finance, he still needs to give an explanation to his father, right?" Li Xian looked at Fang Xianzhong with a grim smile. , which is indeed a good idea.
It's not that I don't know. After careful calculation, I still have a lot of things that can restrain Li Hong.
"Yes, so we need to win over Li Qiao from the Yushitai, and we also need to win over Di Renjie, an important minister in front of the queen, but..."
"Di Renjie is too cunning. During this period of time, Li Hong has not won him over. He has been talking about his mother's kindness to him, so that others can retreat. As for Li Qiao... it is not easy to win over either. I need ministers like you to give me advice.”
There was a hint of greed in Fang Xianzhong's eyes, and he continued to say calmly: "It's true that Di Renjie is difficult to win over, but Li Qiao doesn't care. Feng Yanzhuo is the responsibility of all the censors in the Yushitai, and it doesn't necessarily have to be Li Qiao. but… ."
"But what?"
"Dali Temple, the Ministry of Punishment, and the Yushitai must have someone who can follow you. If it doesn't work, then there is only..." Fang Xianzhong pointed upward with his index finger, looking at Li Xian who was still a little confused, and paused He then said: "Zhang Wenguan, the minister of the Ministry of Finance, will retire and return to his hometown next year. If King Pei can win over a minister of Youpu She, or recommend a minister of Youpu She, I think this will be better than Dali Temple, Those in the Ministry of Punishment and Yushitai should be more profitable."
Li Xian's eyes are wide open, the boss, Shangshu Shengyoupushe! That was an official of the second rank, a highly respected official. In the Tang Dynasty, except for Li Hong, who was a real official of the second rank.
Among the officials of the second rank, Zhang Wenguan, the right servant, and Cui Yuanzong, the left servant, have actual duties. Absolutely no one of the other officials has actual duties and has the official position of the second rank!
Li Xian was so shocked that he couldn't speak. He swallowed a few mouthfuls of saliva and said with a dry mouth: "You will never let your servant shoot Li Hong to someone he doesn't trust. It's impossible for me. Li Hong will never let me get involved in any position in the Sixth Department, unless he asks his father for help? But his father will definitely not agree. The battle between the emperor's grandfather and the hidden prince Li Jiancheng is still fresh in his mind, so his father will definitely not agree to let me serve as minister. Save the right servant for shooting."
A trace of loneliness flashed across Fang Xianzhong's face. This person seems to be selfish. When something good happens, his first reaction is to seek compensation from himself. King Pei seems to be the same way! Have you never thought about yourself before you
But then again, my first reaction was the same. I still hope that King Pei can help me to ascend the position of the right servant of the second-rank Shangshu Province. I didn't think of it until Li Xian said it. Is he the second possibility to serve as Minister of Secretariat
But if such a self-recommendation opportunity is missed, wouldn’t my main purpose be defeated this time? Regardless of whether he can succeed or not, his words must be spoken to King Pei.
"King Pei is naturally wary of the prince, and it is difficult for him to win this position. But if he is a minister... is it possible to sit on the right servant's position? Of course, there is a prerequisite for this, and that is to reassure King Pei. , now that my daughter is your quasi-princess, then even if I sit in the position of right servant of Shangshu Province, I will still be your minister of King Pei. In short, no matter whether I can sit in the position of right servant or not, I will still be your servant. Your loyal minister, King Pei, is here to serve you and look forward to your leadership.”
"This matter requires careful planning. Whether it is you or me, if anyone can win the position of Youpushe in Shangshu Province, it will be equivalent to taking away half of Li Hong's current rights, even if he asks the five surnames and Qiwang to help "This is worth a try!" Li Xian walked back and forth excitedly for several times, then suddenly stopped in front of Fang Xianzhong and said firmly.
A trace of worry flashed between Fang Xianzhong's brows. If Li Xian were asked to compete for the position of the right servant of Shangshu Province, I am afraid that with Li Hong's keenness and vigilance, in the end, it would be more likely that others would take advantage of the loophole, rather than Only one of them will be chosen.
"King Pei, has he ever thought that if you showed any signs of being interested in this matter, how could Prince Li Hong ignore it? By then, I'm afraid it would be difficult for us to win over you. So I think it would be better for you, King Pei, to do nothing now. Yi Jing, you should continue to strategize behind the scenes instead of directly participating. In that case, I'm afraid it will alert the snake and make Prince Li Hong more wary of you, right?" Fang Xianzhong walked step by step, looking at Li Xian's uncertain face. , expressed the worries in his heart.
"This..." Li Xian hesitated. The facts were indeed as Fang Xianzhong said. If he behaved too frequently, Li Hong would probably be on guard against him.
"King Pei, your top priority now is... to have a family and a career! As long as you have a family first, in the eyes of His Majesty and the Queen, you are an adult. As the saying goes, having a family and a career, at least in the eyes of Your Majesty and the Queen, you will have a little more stability. . And now the crown prince Li Hong has just started to be managed by the queen, so your top priority should not be to focus on the court, but to take care of the affairs of the palace properly and leave them for your majesty and the queen. A good impression of cultivating oneself and managing one’s family well.”
"Ge Xiyuan was appointed as the Chief Protector of the Andong Protectorate. It is impossible for Zhang Daan, Liu Nayan, Cheng Xuanyi, and Xu Shuya to be promoted several levels in a row. Moreover, they have no political achievements worth boasting about. Officials of the third rank in Chang'an "I'm afraid it's not enough if you are the only one competing now." Li Xian glanced at Fang Xianzhong. He, his would-be father-in-law, was not interested in drinking. He wanted to use his and Wu Xing Qiwang's power to help him. Sit on the right servant's seat.
Although there is nothing wrong with this matter, if you sift through the courtiers who are attracted by the fate of King Pei, he is the most qualified. After all, there are still too few third-grade officials under his wing, Li Xian.
"Okay, I can discuss this matter with Qiwang of the fifth surname. The first choice is your Fang Shangshu as the right servant to shoot, but you must also strive for success. These days, the Ministry of Industry will not continue to repair the palace, and winter is already here. It's time to stop for a while." Li Xian counted on his fingers and found out that Fang Xianzhong was the only one he could fully trust and be qualified to compete for Shangshu's right servant. You might as well agree to it for now.
As for whether the trip can be made, he still needs to discuss it with Wu Xing Qiwang and select suitable people again before he can decide who will take the responsibility.
After bidding farewell to Fang Xianzhong and leaving the house, Li Xian stayed alone for a long time before slowly walking out. A letter in the door's hand was handed over in time.
I originally thought it was a letter from Ge Xiyuan of Liaodong, so I casually said to put it aside for now, but I didn't expect the disciple to respectfully say: "King Pei, this is a letter from Wang Bo, not from Ge Xiyuan."
"Wang Bo?" Li Xian was startled and almost forgot about it, so he hurriedly took the letter from the doorman's hand and walked a few steps to the main hall.
Lu Zhaolin is now the person he has always wanted to win over. After five years in Anxi, he was directly appointed as the governor of Fanyang Governor's Mansion after returning. Now he controls the Liaodong Road, the main road for the Tang army to leave and enter the customs. If he can win over this person, , for the original implementation of his original plan, the possibility of success is much greater.
So he asked Wang Bo to visit Lu Zhaolin in the name of the Four Heroes of Chang'an, the nickname given to them by the literati, to see if this person could be won over.
After all, Lu Zhaolin had been serving Li Hong in Anxi, and he should have learned a lot from Li Hong over the years. Otherwise, what if Luo Binwang and Yang Jiong, who were also the four heroes of Chang'an, were not transferred back, but him
Although it is said that there is a reason for Fan Yang's Lu family, if Lu Zhaolin wants to replace Fan Yang's family head, he probably needs his own help. Today's Qi Wang of the Five Surnames has the closest relationship with him, Li Xian.
"Your Majesty has returned to Chang'an by water and will arrive in Luoyang in the near future. Lu Zhaolin's attitude is vague, and I can't get a clear answer so far. According to my observations over the past few days, I have not found any close contact between the prince and Lu Zhaolin. When His Majesty's Majesty arrived in Fanyang, the Crown Prince only had a separate conversation with Lu Zhaolin. As for His Majesty, he did not summon Lu Zhaolin alone. I asked King Pei to decide whether to go straight to the point."
Li Xian's eyes followed the handwriting line by line. After reading the end, he crumpled the letter into a ball and held it in his hand: "Trash! Useless stuff!"
The angry Li Xian looked at the letter in his hand, threw it to the ground angrily, and continued angrily: "Get straight to the point! Are you looking for death by getting straight to the point? A private conversation with the prince is enough! Who is Li Hong? These are all He is someone who followed him in Anxi back then, so he naturally knows it well, does it still need a few more instructions? "
"King Pei..."
"Go down!" Li Xian waved his hand angrily. A hard-earned letter only mentioned the matter of his father and the prince, but did not mention a word about who is the head of the Fan Yang Lu family now! Lu Zhaolin didn't even mention whether there was anyone who wanted to be the head of the Lu family during this period. What else could he be if he wasn't a waste!
(End of chapter)