There were pavilions and towers on the Luo Mansion, and a green courtyard. In the living room, three people were drinking and chatting, and from time to time a dish of delicious food was served on the table.
Luo Yanhuan raised his glass and said with emotion: It is rare to have a true friend in life, but now I have two, what else can I ask for
Zuo You raised his glass with a smile on his face and said: I hope we can drink here every year to celebrate Brother Luo’s birthday.
Let's drink first as a sign of respect. Luo Yanhuan's face flushed as he raised his head and drank the entire glass of wine.
Li Chuyun also smiled, pressed down his big beard and picked up the wine glass.
Just then, a beautiful woman came out from the back door with a smile on her face. The woman had her hair tied up with gold hairpins in it, but her dress seemed simple and friendly.
Luo Yanhuan said: Brother Li greets my wife. This is Brother Zuo, the Junior Secretary of the Ministry of Rites and the Assistant Minister of the Cabinet. Come and pay your respects to the two brothers.
Zuo You stood up hurriedly, looked away, and no longer looked at the beautiful woman.
The woman knelt down and said, "I am here to greet you, my brothers. I have cooked a few dishes, I wonder if they suit your taste."
Li Chuyun made a gesture of pretending to support her: Sister-in-law, please stop being so polite.
Zuo You hurriedly said, "We feel bad for letting sister-in-law cook for us. The food is so delicious, it tastes like home. Thank you very much."
The woman smiled and said: It's just simple food, I hope you brothers don't mind.
I dare not, I dare not. Zuo You and Li Chuyun said in a friendly manner.
The woman said: "Brothers, please enjoy your meal. I will not disturb your enjoyment any longer."
Zuo You glanced at the woman's back inadvertently, and understood in his heart that a colleague even called out his female relatives to meet him, which meant that he was truly treating her as a trusted friend.
The three of them continued to drink and chat about anecdotes. Zuo You occasionally agreed with them with interest, but he was thinking about another thing: the memorial from Prime Minister Fan Zhi.
There are some things that no one would say even in private, but Zuo You knew it in his heart: the Queen of the Fu family gave birth to a son, and Li Yuan'er also gave birth to a prince, and an older one, but he is not a legitimate son now.
I don’t know what Li Chuyun thinks, but if you look at the long-term, the Fu family is too favored, which is obviously not a pleasant thing for Li Chuyun’s family.
In that memorial, Fan Zhi was the first to question Empress Duanci's management of the government. Not many people knew about it for the time being; among the few who knew about it was Zuo You, because he saw it with his own eyes in the East Palace.
There are only three of us in Luo's house now. Should we tell Li Chuyun
Zuo You hesitated. He wanted to tell Li Chuyun out of selfishness, because he had a good personal relationship with them. Li Chuyun and Luo Yanhuan were old friends. The reason why Zuo You hesitated was that he sensed that this matter might be a little complicated.
Luo and Li treated Zuo You as a close friend, especially Luo Yanhuan. If Zuo You had to take a position among the ministers, he would certainly stand on their side; but there was another person to consider, the current emperor.
Zuo You's original identity was Guo Shao's aide and good friend. Later, he recommended talents to Guo Shao and deepened his friendship with Luo Yanhuan and Li Chuyun.
Fan Zhi's memorial, since Guo Shao had not yet expressed his opinion, Zuo You thought that he could wait and not tell anyone in a hurry.
So the three of them continued to drink and talk about anecdotes, and no one mentioned official business.
Before dawn the next day, Guo Shao met with ministers from several important government offices in the Jinxiang Palace in the imperial city as usual.
After a night of deliberation, Guo Shao decided to take out Fan Zhi's memorial and ask the ministers for their opinions. Fan Zhi was the prime minister of two dynasties, and he had contacts with many officials; and through the memorial procedure, there must be someone who knows about it. This matter cannot be concealed, and it is not a good idea to suppress it.
Yesterday, Mr. Fan sent a memorial to the emperor, and asked all the ministers to take a look. Guo Shao turned to the eunuch Cao Tai and said.
Everyone passed the memorial around and looked at it. Suddenly the hall became quiet, so quiet that one could hear a pin drop.
In his memorial, Fan Zhi cited some examples of women in the harem interfering in government affairs, which led to the gloom of government affairs. Guo Shao disagreed because he felt that Fu Jinzhan was not comparable to those women who brought disaster to the country and the people, but he was not in a position to argue with the ministers. Fan Zhi also had another reason, that women would make government affairs lose fairness and clarity and destroy the ritual system.
Guo Shao knew that it didn't matter what kind of person Fu Jinzhan was; the key point was that after Wu Zetian became emperor in the Tang Dynasty, both military commanders and officials distrusted women. People were afraid of repeating some of the things that happened during Wu Zetian's reign, and they were not used to the style and characteristics of women.
Guo Shao looked around and first fixed his eyes on Wang Pu's face. Wang Pu looked down, frowned and pondered, with no intention of expressing his opinion at all.
He looked at them one by one, and most of them were unwilling to say anything. When he saw Zuo You, Zuo You clasped his fists and said: "I think that Empress Duanci is in power at this time, which is indeed not good. It may be detrimental to Empress Duanci's reputation."
When Guo Shao heard Zuo Youdu say this, his mood sank.
At this time, Shi Yanchao said in a loud voice: "Civil officials are just nagging. Military affairs are still managed by the emperor. What can those who move their pens and mouths do? The emperor has no time to care about them. There is nothing wrong with letting Empress Duanci help. This is your blessing. Empress Duanci is kind and tolerant. Even the soldiers of the imperial guards obey her. Civil officials are just being unreasonable and don't know what is good for them."
His words were full of contempt for the civil servants. The prime minister and civil servants present were very unhappy and looked at Shi Yanchao with disdain.
Fan Zhi said coldly: "We are about to conquer the world. If we still need warriors to rule the world, the lessons of Liang, Tang, Jin and Han are not far away. The sage said that ruling a big country is like cooking a small fish. General Shi doesn't understand, so why bother to talk nonsense and make people laugh at you?"
Shi Yanchao was furious, pointed at Fan Zhi and sneered: "Now I feel that I have stood up straight. Back then, when the emperor led the army into the imperial city, why didn't you show any toughness?"
Shi Yanchao and Guo Shao's faces immediately fell.
Shi Yanchao stopped talking angrily. Fan Zhi's hands were shaking as he stood up. "You, you..."
Guo Shaodao: Mr. Fan has been managing government affairs in the court for the sake of justice and the general interests of the world, in accordance with the will of the people. You humiliate a prime minister like this, where do you put me
Wang Pu also said: Shi Yanchao, do you admit your guilt
Guo Shao also followed up with a scolding.
Seeing that they could not reach an agreement, Guo Shao said, "Let's stop talking today. If you have any ideas, you can write a letter to express your opinions. Everyone present, there is no crime in expressing your opinions."
When the ministers left Jinxiang Hall, Wang Pu waited for Shi Yanchao to come up on the road, and then said earnestly: If it weren't for the emperor's protection of you, General Shi would have been in trouble today. Do you know
Shi Yanchao remained calm and snorted. He denied it, but he felt that Wang Pu was right.
Wang Pudao: There is no point in saying more, General Shi, just take care of yourself.
Shi Yanchao returned to the Dianqiansi office in a depressed mood. When he came to the suite where he worked, he couldn't help but curse again.
A close general happened to come in to do some work, so he persuaded him with kind words and asked who had offended Shi Duzhishi. Shi Yanchao took a look at the general and trusted him, so he told him about the incident in the East Hall of Jinxiang Palace.
The generals immediately followed suit and cursed Fan Zhi. Although Fan Zhi was the prime minister, the imperial guards did not buy into his words in private, and the government office could not control them; if it were in the past, the generals with troops would be even more arrogant, but now they have restrained themselves a little and dare not be rude in public.
After the general finished scolding, he looked back at the door and whispered: "General Shi mentioned Zuo Shaoqing's attitude, and I remembered one thing. Yesterday, Zuo You also attended the birthday celebration of Luo Yanhuan, the commander-in-chief of the imperial guards and infantry."
Shi Yanchao frowned and said: Luo Yanhuan was in a very bad state before, but he was able to be reused and get to his current high position because Zuo You recommended him to the government. The two of them had a good relationship. Zuo You went over to drink on Luo Yanhuan's birthday. What's wrong
The general said: Of course there is nothing wrong. However, Li Dianjian and Luo Yanhuan became even closer, because Luo Yanhuan first surrendered to the government, which gave Li Dianjian a way out.
Shi Yanchao suddenly realized: What do you mean, was there any collusion between Zuo You and Li Chuyun last night
The general took a step closer, put his mouth close to Shi Yanchao's ear, and whispered: Otherwise, why would Zuo You suddenly support Fan Zhi today? If he supports Fan Zhi, he is helping Li Dianjian.
I suspect that there is some kind of relationship between Inspector Li and Fan Zhi. Recently, many civil servants have been fawning on Inspector Li. Although the ministers have not come forward, it is hard to guarantee that those civil servants are the men of a certain minister.
Shi Yanchao frowned and said: Explain it to me clearly, what does Zuo You's support for Fan Zhi mean to help Li Chuyun
The general looked nervous and whispered, "Empress Duanci is from the Fu family. If she is in power, the prince born by the queen will not be as stable as a rock. Li Chuyun, the inspector of Li, also gave birth to a prince. There is no hope for that prince. So, does General Shi understand?"
Shi Yanchao pondered for a long time.
The general said: Li Dianjian is a high-ranking official, but his military achievements are not as good as those of General Shi.
Shi Yanchao did not deny it, and said with narrowed eyes: I dare not brag about other things, but when I charge into battle, how many people in this world dare to challenge me
The general whispered: That's right, that's right. Why does Li Dianjian want to suppress us? He always favors those who have a good relationship with him when it comes to good things. It really makes everyone feel unhappy. If General Shi can be the Dianjian of the Palace, everyone will be happy.
Li Dianjian not only relies on nepotism, but now he is also colluding with civil officials. I think that even if General Shi is thinking about the court, he should write a letter to remind the emperor.
Shi Yanchaodao: How to submit a letter
The general hurriedly whispered: Report to the higher authorities what happened between Zuo You and Li Dianjian at Luo Yanhuan's house last night.
Shi Yanchao said: That's enough
The general said: "That's enough. After all, Li Dianjian is of higher status than Shi Dushi. If you say something too harsh, it will be inappropriate. And there is no need to say more about this matter. The emperor is a saint and cannot be compared with ordinary people. As soon as the emperor saw the memorial, he could think that Li Dianjian was very selfish and colluded with ministers to attack the Fu family for his own selfish interests."
As long as the emperor does not trust Li Dianjian, once he leaves, who else besides General Shi will be qualified to take the position of Dianjian