The hall of the Xihuamen Neizhengshitang was filled with files and documents, and hundreds of officials were busy inside, like a machine running at full speed or a huge heart, with countless government orders radiating from this heart to all parts of the country. Although the Great Zhou inherited the three-province and six-department system of the Tang Dynasty in terms of system, the power center except for the military was here.
Fan Zhi was working in the study room of a suite when an official brought a memorial in. Fan Zhi said casually: "Put it here. It's finally approved. I don't know how many memorials have been squeezed in these few days."
He picked up a book and opened it to read the reply at the end. A row of red words in a timeless and beautiful font came into view.
Hey, Fan Zhi said, the words approved by Empress Duanci
The official hurriedly said: Yes, we were summoned to the west side hall, and when we were taking the memorials, we heard the voice of Empress Duanci behind the curtain.
Fan Zhi frowned: The emperor has returned to the court and the west side hall is not unused.
The official bowed and said: "If Sir Fan has no other instructions, I will take my leave."
Fan Zhi raised his sleeves and waved them, pacing back and forth in front of the desk. His face was very serious, with three vertical lines between his eyebrows. Fan Zhi flicked his sleeves, put his hands behind his back, looked up at the scenery outside the window, and said to himself: It is not a good thing for women to interfere in politics.
Soon, someone came in and invited Fan Zhi to Wang Pu's study to discuss matters, and the three prime ministers met. Wang Pu and Li Gu had returned to Tokyo, and Wang Pu took out a stack of memorials that were approved by the Political Affairs Hall for discretion and circulated them.
Fan Zhi immediately reminded him that the words on the approval of the memorial should not be written by the government.
Wang Pudao: Empress Duanci’s name.
Li Gu said nothing, and Fan Zhi was not in a position to say anything either, so the topic came to an end.
Fan Zhi pondered that the fall of the Han Dynasty was due to the disaster caused by women and relatives of the emperor. Several people present at the meeting were in high positions in the government, but they pretended to be deaf and dumb. Moreover, there were only three prime ministers in the government affairs hall.
He looked back at the other two people and when he looked at Wang Pu, Wang Pu also looked at him in confusion. Fan Zhi hurriedly pretended to be indifferent, thinking that when the previous emperor was in power, this guy seemed to have a relationship with Empress Duanci Fu, so he might not stand up now.
Fan Zhi looked at Li Gu again. Li Gu should have a good personal relationship with the emperor. The problem was, how could Empress Duanci rule the country without the emperor's trust
Alas, Fan Zhi suddenly sighed heavily.
Li Gu kindly asked: Mr. Fan is not happy
Fan Zhi said angrily: Loyal ministers will always be disliked by others.
Wang Pu was also puzzled after hearing this: Aren't the three of us working together for the country? Who dares to be so grand and annoy Mr. Fan
Fan Zhi whispered: There are always people who slander the reputation of the emperor and Empress Duanci. Now, without the ministers' petition, the emperor lets Empress Duanci take charge of government affairs. Isn't this giving others an advantage
Wang Pu and Li Gu looked at each other, neither of them could speak.
After the You hour, officials from various government offices in the imperial city left the imperial city, and the Dianqiansi government office near Ma Xing Street also left their shifts at the You hour. At this time, carriages and horses could be seen everywhere on the road, and officials could be seen everywhere in the capital.
Military generals such as Li Chuyun of the Palace Front Department basically had no contact with civil officials. Birds of a feather flock together, and they could not talk to each other.
But today he met two civil officials on the road, who drove over to greet him, and their words were full of flattery. On the contrary, the military general Shi Yanchao's troops who came from behind ignored Li Chuyun. Shi Yanchao kept looking over here on his horse, but he didn't come up to greet him.
A civil servant bent his back and said politely: I have heard that Li Dianjian liked to make friends with famous scholars when he was in Guanzhong, and he had the style of a Confucian general. It is indeed a great honor to meet him today.
Another said: Li Dianjian has a body as strong as a mountain, beautiful hair, and a dignified appearance. He has the demeanor of a martial saint. He is truly a man of both civil and military talents.
Li Chuyun stared at what he heard. He was not used to showing disdain to officials, even if they were of lower rank, so he could only say: "I am flattered to death by you. I don't deserve it. I don't deserve it."
After finally getting rid of the two officials, Li Chuyun simply stopped riding his horse and hid in the carriage of his aide Li Liangshi.
My Lord. Li Liangshi clasped his fists and saluted. He was a brother of Li Chuyun. He had read some poetry and books, but did not take the imperial examination. He came to Li Chuyun. Although they were relatives, Li Liangshi always followed the etiquette of master and servant.
Li Chuyun shook his head and said: "What those two people are called has nothing to do with me. I have no right to manage them. It's a waste of words to come here and flatter them for a long time." After saying that, he slapped the carriage with his palm, and a shout was heard from the front: Let's go back to the mansion.
Li Liangshi said calmly: "The Palace Front Office certainly has no control over civil officials, but the lord's favor is growing day by day, and if they mention their names in front of His Majesty, they will also benefit a lot. The future is just a matter of a word from the lord, so how can we not seize the opportunity to come up and make ourselves familiar with him?"
After hearing this, Li Chuyun stroked his beard and said thoughtfully: It's all the fault of that eunuch Cao Tai. There were so many people outside the Jinxiang Palace, talking about the affairs of the harem, which made me lose face. It seemed that all the battles I fought were fake, and I got the official position because of my daughter.
The master's implication was that Shi Yanchao had ridiculed Li Liangshi, saying, "Why does that fellow care about him?"
Humph. Li Chuyun was still a little unhappy. He was already a person of status and position, but he was insulted in front of others. It was not a good thing to be embarrassed anyway.
Liangshi whispered: I guess that Cao Tai did not come here on his own, because he is Empress Duanci's man, so it must be the emperor's intention.
Li Chuyun lowered his head in thought.
Liang Shi continued to mutter: That morning, the emperor attributed the cause of the Wenyu River battle to the fact that the Liao Kingdom had fewer horses than the Liao Kingdom, intending to protect the lord from being criticized for losing the war. There are three thousand beauties in the palace. When the emperor returned to Tokyo, the first thing he saw was the imperial concubine Li Yuaner. This is not the emperor's intention to protect the lord's holy favor.
Liang Shi lowered his voice and said in a very small voice: The prince born to the imperial concubine is the eldest son.
Li Chuyun's beard trembled, and he said in a deep voice: Don't talk nonsense. The queen's son is the eldest son.
Liang Shi gritted his teeth and said: My lord, the queen or the imperial concubine was conferred by His Majesty, but the order in which the princes are born cannot be decided by anyone else.
Li Chuyun said: Let’s not talk about this anymore.
Liang Shi exhaled and said, "I obey your command." However, it is not a bad thing that those officials are optimistic about the lord; if everyone is optimistic about you, no matter what the original situation is, at least there will be more people supporting the lord.
Li Chuyun didn't say anything. Although he didn't say anything, his heart was still in turmoil, and he couldn't calm down.
Yuan'er is his favorite daughter. Although his grandson is a descendant of the Guo family, he still has some blood of the Li family. Besides, if his grandson becomes a prince or an emperor in the future, he will not treat his uncle's family badly.
Li Chuyun was just a general under the Jingnan warlord, and no one in his family had ever had a high status. If he could establish the Li family's status, the family's status in the future would be completely different. The family's status is the most reliable thing. Look at the Fu family, which has been a famous family for many years.
Even when Guo Shao insisted on marrying Fu Ermei, he also wanted Li Yuaner to be his concubine. Why wasn't it just because of the difference in social status that a marriage was necessary? Li Chuyun was in favor of this matter for the sake of everyone's common future; but how he felt in his heart, only he, as her father, could feel it silently.
Li Chuyun thought of the Fu family and couldn't help stroking his beard in distress.
When Guo Shao was still a mid-level general, Li Chuyun followed him. He knew all the ups and downs in these years. Empress Fu Ermei was not the focus, but the late emperor's empress Fu was the key figure.
Fu was indebted to the emperor.
There were also rumors that the emperor and his sister-in-law had some unclear relationship. Whether it was true or not, Li Chuyun didn't know, and no one knew, because there was no real evidence, so he could only guess. The truth was unclear, but Li Chuyun guessed that there might be something wrong. For example, hearing that Empress Duanci was invited by the emperor to take charge of state affairs again gave people a feeling that it was unusual.
Li Chuyun concluded that the woman from the Fu family was much more favored than Li Yuaner.
He immediately looked at Liang Shiyi and said earnestly: "Today I have become the inspector of the palace. The emperor has trusted me and I cannot repay him. We should be content and not ask for too much. We just need to do our job for the emperor."
Alas, Liangshi sighed after hearing this. He observed Li Chuyun's expression from time to time, and after a while, he couldn't help but say: My lord, if you have something to tell me, I will do my duty for you.
Li Chuyun said: I have probably told you what happened.
After Li Chuyun finished speaking, he lifted the curtain of the carriage, and immediately an intoxicating scene came into view. In front of the carriage was the Bian River, and on the bridge over the river there were many carriages and tourists, and pavilions and towers on both sides of the river were very prosperous. In the spring breeze, the willows on the river bank were green and swayed gently in the moist wind, their graceful posture like the waist of a beauty.
The teahouses and taverns on both sides of the wide street were very lively, even more bustling than before the expedition to Youzhou. Perhaps the population of Tokyo had increased in the past few months, or perhaps spring had come and people were more willing to take to the streets.
This must be the most prosperous and beautiful place in the world. Li Chuyun smiled with his eyes narrowed.
Li Liangshi said: If we enter an era of peace and prosperity, Tokyo will become more prosperous and gradually become more stable.
Calm Li Chuyun asked casually.
Li Liangshi said: Peddlers on the street will remain peddlers all their lives, and so will their descendants. Even prominent families will not easily shake their foundations.
Hum, hum. Li Chuyun glanced at him. When the war started, he could rely on his military achievements; when the world was peaceful, he could study and take the imperial examination. The air in the world had to flow up and down. According to the rules of the court, people with real ability were not without a way out.