Chapter 65: The king's plan, the emperor's taboo
In Zhenguan Palace, Li Shimin was paced back and forth.
This is his usual habit. Every time he encounters difficult things, he will let himself think about it in peace and think about countermeasures.
The difficult thing this time is that Yu Shinan resigns from office and wants to beg for support!
An eighty-year-old official resigned may seem like an ordinary thing, but if this person has a special identity, his meaning will be unusual.
Yu Shinan is from Yuyao, Yuezhou. He was born in the Yu family of Kuaiji. He is from the southerner and is also a representative figure of the geniuses in Jiangnan.
Since the implementation of the Nine-rank Zhongzheng system of the Wei and Jin Dynasties, until the Sui and Tang Dynasties, it was a noble society where the gentry flourished. Someone wanted to ascend and hold the throne firmly, and he would not be able to support the gentry.
In view of the division between the north and the west since the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the gentry in the world was also divided into different groups according to their regions, such as the Guanlong nobles, the Shandong gentry and the Southern gentry.
Since the Sima family in the Eastern Jin Dynasty moved south, the north and the south split for hundreds of years. The Sui Dynasty destroyed the Chen Dynasty and unified the north and the south for only a few decades. How could the barriers between the north and the south be easily eliminated?
Emperor Yang of Sui built the canal to accelerate the integration of the north and the south. Both the Sui and Tang dynasties valued some southern heroes, and also to win over the southern geniuses and accelerate the return of the southern people.
There are not many people from the southern region who are powerful in the Tang Dynasty court. Xiao Yu from the Lanling Xiao family is considered one, who is a descendant of the Southern Liang royal family.
There is also Cen Wenben, who was under Xiao Xian, the commander of the Western Liang Dynasty. Although the Minister of Rites Wang Gui was from Hedong, the grandson of the Minister of Rites Wang Sengbian of the Southern Liang Dynasty, he was also considered the representative of the Southern people.
There is also Yu Shinan, the Duke of Yongxing County. The Yu family was a wealthy family in the southern part. His brother Yu Shiji was the Minister of the Inner History during the Former Sui Dynasty. He was equivalent to the Minister of the Secretariat of the Tang Dynasty. He can be said to be of high status and powerful status.
Now Yu Shinan is about to resign, and he is 80 years old. Wang Gui is not in good health. If these two people are gone... the only famous southern officials in the court are Xiao Yu and Cen Wenben. Can the two fully represent the southern gentry? Can the aristocratic families in Jiangnan and Jinghu be satisfied?
What about the Southern people returning to their hearts and fusion between the north and the south? More importantly, the delicate balance in the court will be broken. Without a little decentralization and checks and balances, the power of the Guanlong nobles and Shandong gentry will inevitably expand, and it will become more and more powerful.
This is not the situation Li Shimin wanted to see. In the absence of Guanlong and Shandong families, he could only achieve centralization by decentralization and checks and balances. Since the implementation of the three provinces and six ministries system and more than one prime minister was made, the emperor has been well aware of this.
The southern gentry had the weakest relative power, but it was a force that Li Shimin had to pay attention to and needed very much. Now, because Yu Shinan's resignation and Wang Gui's deterioration and illness were weakened, his power was weakened.
No, absolutely not! We must find ways to make up for it and strengthen the power of the southern gentry.
Without Yu Shinan, I will support one more from the children of the great families in Jiangnan. But... Looking around, there are few outstanding talents from the South in the court now, and it feels like they can't stand up to the wall.
It seems that except for the prosperity of the Xiao family in Lanling, the Lu family of Wujun and the Shen family of Wuxing in the south, and even the Wang family of Langya, the Yuan family of Chenjun and Xie family of Chenjun, which are both "four major overseas Chinese surnames" across the river, the Yuan family of Chenjun and Xie family are all declining day by day, and they no longer have the prosperity of the past, and it is difficult to produce top talents.
Slowly, Chen County Xie Family!
Thinking of this, Li Shimin suddenly thought of someone. He had just been promoted to Huaiyang County, Xie Yi, was born in the Xie family of Chen County! He was also a hero in Jianghuai and a scholar in the southern world...
Using him? Li Shimin immediately shook his head, and a hint of self-deprecating smile appeared on the corner of his mouth. It seemed that he was a bit of a joke to replace the eighty-year-old Yu Shinan with an 18-year-old boy...
But then I thought about it, why not? The smile on the corner of Li Shimin's mouth disappeared, replaced by distant meditation.
Xie Yi is young now, but what about ten, twenty, or even thirty years later? How many years can Xiao Yu and Cen Wenben live? Then they will have to select new talents from the south. Instead of picking generals from the shorts in the future, they will not train them as soon as possible and prepare for the future.
Even if you don’t think about yourself, you have to think about your son. No matter how you say that you have conquered the world on horseback and can suppress the aristocratic families and brave generals.
But my sons were born rich and had never experienced any storms. It was not easy to be able to support the country. How could they leave a mess for them? Some things that should be paved for them must be carried out as soon as possible.
Xie Yi is a talented person and may be able to take on a big position in the future. It is not a problem to be young... After all, he is already a Huaiyang County. You must know that a few years ago, Yu Shinan was just a county in Yongxing County, and Cen Wenben still only has the title of Jiangling County.
What's more, Yu Shinan promised to resign from his post at the beginning of next year, and there was still half a year left. With Xie Yi's ability and some guidance and training, he might be able to improve, which is quite exciting!
A difficult problem was a little bit clear, and Li Shimin's tight eyebrows slightly relaxed. By the way, there was Yu Shinan's last advice, what mistake did his son Li Tai make about the construction of Yique Buddhist shrine?
"Come here, send someone to Yique to see the construction of the Buddhist niche, and then check if the King of Wei knows it."
Li Shimin ordered, and immediately a guard took the order and left and handed it to a special person to investigate. It happened that at this time, Li Zhi, Yizi and Li Xin returned from playing and served Li Shimin for lunch.
The clever Li Xin vaguely heard the Emperor's ancestor mention his father, and subconsciously kept a little care and prepared to go back to show off to his father. Maybe there would be rewards.
When Li Shimin met his children and grandchildren, he was in a good mood and didn't care about anything. However, his five-year-old grandson was still an ignorant child, and he was not at all wary.
...
But in fact, Li Xin kept it in mind. After lunch with the Emperor's ancestor, the clever little ghost returned to his residence quietly, and told his father Li Tai what he heard, just like offering treasures.
King Li Tai of Wei was shocked when he heard this. He asked his son to enter the palace more to compete for favor, but he did not expect to play the role of a secret spy, which was very useful today.
Although it was just a few words, the clever Li Tai conjectured and came up with the truth that was close to the facts - the father learned that Yique built a Buddhist niche, and the supervisor abused the craftsmen for the sake of progress, and suspected himself.
It is logical that this is not a big deal, but since Xie Yi forced him to apologize for a few crops last time, Li Tai has become more careful in everything. There is no small matter in the family, and any little thing may rise to a certain level, causing a sensation.
To abuse and treat craftsmen with improper love, this is a matter of being criticized for their virtues. Furthermore, to be eager for quick success and instant benefits for their deceased mothers, they are inevitably suspected of their original intentions.
Especially when the king and father know and have doubts, it is an extremely dangerous signal.
"what to do?"
"Your Highness, why not send someone to Yique to prepare quickly and replace all the injured craftsmen and let everyone silence them?" The speaker was the entourage possessed by Sherlock Holmes that night, named Liu Xuan. This man was a bachelor recruited by the Wei Palace. He had some abilities and was quite loyal, so he became Li Tai's confidant.
"No!" Li Tai pondered for a moment and refused flatly.
"Why? Your Highness, it's still time..."
Li Tai shook his head and said, "The father can send someone to investigate, which means he has received the news. If the person is dismissed now, wouldn't it mean we know and have prepared in advance? Let me ask... how did we know the father's investigation?"
"this……"
Li Tai said coldly: "You should know what the sin of spy on the king and discover the secret words in the forbidden area."
Liu Xuan immediately broke out in a cold sweat. Fortunately, His Highness the King of Wei was rational, otherwise he would have committed a great sin. For the emperor, mystery is very important, and the whispers in the palace are absolutely secrets and cannot be allowed to spy on others. This is a taboo for the emperor.
Even if you are a biological son, you must not step beyond the line. Otherwise, you will lose favor forever, and you will never be able to recover if you are seriously doomed.
The royal family has no affection. It is not completely unreasonable. It is an indisputable fact that father, son and brother are suspicious of each other. Especially Li Shimin, who has experienced the Xuanwu Gate Incident and killed his brother and forced his father Li Yuan to abdicate, must be more sensitive.
"Your Highness, what should I do?" Liu Xuan wiped his sweat and whispered: "Can you bear the sin for this?"
"Of course, I can't bear it all, otherwise my father will really be suspicious of my intentions." Li Tai said leisurely: "You go and tell Zheng Bin that I can only bear the crime of misunderstanding, and he should know what to do."
Liu Xuan replied nervously: "Yes!"
Li Tai waved his hand and said, "Don't worry, I just admit my mistakes on my own initiative, it's not necessarily all bad things. The saint said: Who can be without mistakes? It's so great that you can correct mistakes."
"What Your Highness said is very much."
"But..." Li Tai said coldly with red eyes: "I want to know how my father knew about this? Who was behind the scenes that he intended to murder me?"
*
Chapter completed!