Chapter 286: Outside

The next day was the tenth day of April, and it was the day to go to bed. The thick fog in the morning had dissipated, and the enthusiastic morning glow sprinkled on the earth. The blue sky was covered with neatly fish-scale clouds, which seemed to be infected by the enthusiasm of the morning glow, and were all dyed golden red.

Chang'an City became lively early, and carriages transporting goods were shuttled through the streets and alleys, either neatly packed firewood or bags of rice and salt, and vegetables that had just been pulled out of the field, and the destination of the carriage was the market of various yards, where countless people came to buy vegetables had already gathered, the sound of pigs and sheep, bargaining, and shouting carriages mixed together, making it particularly lively.

Housewives from poor families held more than a dozen copper coins and carefully considered the purpose of each coins; while wealthy families had their own servants to manage all this, without asking the price or looking at the goods, they only threw down the paper heads full of quantity and variety, and held high, leaving behind a long gaze of envy and shame.

At this time, Li Qing, wearing a white fine linen short suit, ran past the market, and stopped from time to time to ask about the rice and salt prices today. This is a habit that has been developed in Tianbao since the five years, and he took the opportunity of morning jogging to understand people's livelihood. After all, he is the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue and is in charge of a country's finances.

Since the beginning of this year, his morning jog has not been as leisurely as before. Dozens of confidants rode on horseback, following from afar, watching the situation on both sides vigilantly. The people in the market have long been accustomed to it. The officials of the Tang Dynasty have never had any airs, and even the prime minister sometimes often gets out of sedan chairs and goes to the city to take a look.

"It's okay! It's the same as yesterday." He smiled to himself, but his expression relaxed slightly. Today is his last day as the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, and the prices are quite stable.

Li Qing's mansion was two miles away from the market. After going around two turns, Li Qing ran back to the mansion. His stomach was so hungry that he was roaring. When he entered the door, he strided towards the inner courtyard.

"Mr.!" From time to time, maids and servants bent down to salute him, and Li Qing also smiled and nodded to them.

Li Qing had just stepped into the yard gate, and his wife Zhao Lian, who was sitting in front of the window, saw him. He smiled and ordered Xiaoyu, who was controlling Li Qing's diet, and said, "Xiaoyu, the master is back, you can have a meal."

"Eat a little bit, and I'm going to enter the palace today? The emperor wants to summon him!"

Li Qing said as he pulled open the chair and sat down. He looked around, but could not see his daughter's shadow. He frowned and said, "Where is the little guy? Have you been sleeping in again?"

"Dad, I'm here!"

With a 'bang!', a little head came out from under Li Qing's knees, and her forehead hit the edge of the table. She stared at her father blankly, but her eyes slowly turned red. Suddenly, with a "wow" sound, she crawled into Li Qing's arms and burst into tears.

Li Qing was suddenly panicked. While rubbing his daughter's forehead, he stood up and slashed at the table with a stern palm, and cursed himself: "You damn harming table, how dare you bully my little girl, see if I won't kill you!"

Seeing his father showing his power, Li Tingyue's crying gradually stopped, but he was so addicted to his arms that he refused to get up. Li Qing simply hugged her on his lap, grabbed a little porridge and fed her, and smiled and said, "In the future, Daddy will return to the Western Regions, you must follow him."

"Li Lang, are you going to go back to the Western Regions again?"

Lian'er and Li Jingyan looked at each other, and their eyes were full of surprise. Li Qing nodded, "It has been decided to release the outside world. Now I will either go to Suzhou as the governor or the Western Regions. I want to go to the Western Regions myself."

"Sister, this is good. Since Yang Guozhong is inevitable, Li Lang has always been at odds with him. Instead of being plotted against by him, it is better to go to the local area to serve as a prince and establish his own power."

Li Jingyan had some knowledge and immediately expressed her approval. Jian'er touched his bulging belly, but looked at Li Qing. It doesn't matter where her husband goes, but she must not leave her behind.

Li Qing knew what she meant, and thought about it and said to her: "Since you could go with me last time, then this time should be fine. You just have to stay in Beijing and give birth to your child, and I will pick you up again."

He looked back at Xiaoyu and said, "Zhengyan, please follow me first, Xiaoyu stays to take care of her."

"Dad, what about me?" Li Tingyue pulled Li Qing's beard and refused to let go.

"Ouch! Be gentle!"

Li Qing finally pulled out his beard, patted her little hand gently, and pretended to be angry: "You are so naughty, so you will naturally stay with you. Let's go with you then."

"Li Lang, why not stay here to take care of my elder sister."

Li Jingyan thought for a moment and said with a smile: "I have many acquaintances in the capital. Although my father is not here, I still have two brothers to help. I will stay and let Xiaoyu take care of your daily life."

"Forget it, the curtain was born in a few months. You all stayed here, so I feel relieved, just settled."

As soon as he finished speaking, the butler rolled in and crawled in and shouted, "Master, go to the door quickly, the imperial edict has arrived!"

Li Longji has been extremely diligent in his imperial study these days and has been spending four hours every day. On the one hand, he wants to fill the power vacuum caused by the absence of the East Palace, and on the other hand, he wants to complete the burial of Prince Li Heng: to stop the prescription.

In the Tang Dynasty, the emperor and the prime minister played a role in checks and balances, and also had a clear division of labor. One was responsible for the formulation of major national policies and policies, and the other was responsible for the normal operation of the state machinery. Li Linfu's prime minister's talent was only considered passing. In terms of talent, he could not compare to Yao Chong and Song Jing who worked hard to govern the Tang Dynasty and pushed the Tang Dynasty to the prosperous times of Kaiyuan; he could not compare to Zhang Shuo and Zhang Jiuling, who led the literary world of the Tang Dynasty; in terms of pragmatism, he could not compare to Pei Zunqing, who developed the canal transportation and promoted the close integration of the Tang Dynasty's political center and economic center, but he was the prime minister for fifteen years, because there were too many unspeakable inside stories between him and Emperor Li Longji of the Tang Dynasty.

Loyalty, let me say this, he carried out Li Longji's explicit and implicit instructions without reservation, and killed him, dismissed Zhang Jiuling, dismissed Pei Zunqing, dismissed Niu Xianke, dismissed Li Shizhi, dismissed Zhang Qiu Jianqiong, dismissed Zhang Gong, dismissed Zhang Gong, dismissed Zhang Qiu Jianqiong, dismissed the Eastern Palace case, Wei Jian case, and Wang Zhongsi case. All people and matters that were not conducive to the expansion of the monarchy. Li Linfu faithfully carried out Li Longji's deployment, charged forward, and acted as a villain. He was Li Longji's dog, and now he had no cunning rabbits, and it was time to kill this dog to thank the world.

As the successor of the prime minister, Li Longji finally chose Yang Guozhong. He was well-behaved, obedient, had no foundation for political achievements, and was not outstanding, which was enough to control him firmly. In addition, he was also a representative of the Yang family's power. Li Longji had thought about the rise of the Yang family. On the surface, it was the inevitable result of Yang Guifei's favor, but in fact it was not entirely true. The government affairs of the Tang Dynasty were largely controlled by the aristocratic families, especially the local government affairs, Pei, Wei, Cui and other aristocratic families. They were married to each other and had to use a fresh force to attack it from time to time. Li Longji took a fancy to the Yang family, who came from the market.

The traditional forces that use foreign relatives to attack the court seem to be a tradition in the Tang Dynasty. For example, the Changsun clan of Emperor Taizong of Tang, the Wu clan of Emperor Gaozong of Tang to the Yang clan of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, are all inherited from the same lineage.

The direction of the major policy has been decided, and now we need to choose the best time. Originally, Zhao Fengzhang revealed that Li Linfu's indulgence in his family to occupy land was the best opportunity. Unfortunately, Zhang Qiu Jianqiong was troublesome and expanded the attack, which aroused public anger, forcing Li Longji to brake urgently and let Li Linfu go.

The best time has passed, Li Longji stepped out to the clouds and launched Yang Guozhong to fight with Li Linfu. He cheered and helped Yang Guozhong from time to time. He was watching. If Yang Guozhong could capture Li Linfu, he would not hesitate to push Li Linfu into the eighteenth level of hell. But in fact, Yang Guozhong disappointed him, without effective players, no thunder means, and no suitable strategies.

But he scratched Li Linfu a few times without any pain and took away a few books, but left Zhao Fengzhang to Li Linfu. He was decisively killed by the Ministry of Justice, and the evidence of the Suzhou arson case was also taken away by Li Linfu.

What about Yang Guozhong himself? First, Yang Qi was broken by Li Qing and left it alone, and then his son killed the doctor of the Ministry of Personnel in a brothel. All of this shows that this person is timid in ability. Perhaps he is relying on him, but this is precisely what Li Longji doesn't want to give him too much.

So, Li Longji's eyes turned to Li Qing again. He was originally his first choice, capable, capable, and had always been strategic. He beat Li Linfu to pieces in the Eastern Palace case. It should be the best candidate to deal with Li Linfu. Especially now that Zhang Qiu Jianqiong has passed away, it is most appropriate for him to take over Zhang Qiu Jianqiong's class.

But Li Longji saw that ten years or even twenty years later, he was used to assist his heirs and to replace Yang Guozhong, just like he used Yang Guozhong to replace Li Linfu today. Li Qing’s biggest weakness now is his youth, but this is also his greatest advantage. The future is long, so he must hide it well.

At this time, Yu Chaoen walked closer and whispered: "Emperor, Li Qing, Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, is waiting for the imperial edict outside the palace gate!"

"Announce him to meet him!"

Yu Chaoen turned around and went to the palace gate to preach the imperial edict, but Li Longji took a memorial from the table. This was the last batch of personnel transfer plans that Li Linfu had just sent. Li Qing was listed first and was released as the deputy archer of the Anxi Protectorate, the deputy envoy and chief of the Anxi Jiedushi.

This is far from Li Longji's idea of ​​transferring him to Suzhou as the governor.

According to the personnel system of the Tang Dynasty, officials under the sixth rank were generally formulated by the Ministry of Personnel in accordance with qualifications and vacancy, and reported to the prime minister. After repeated verification by the prime minister, the emperor asked the emperor to issue an order to be appointed; while those above the fifth rank were not proposed by the Ministry of Personnel, but should be directly reported to the prime minister and considered by the prime minister. When officials under the third rank were above, the prime minister reported to the emperor and drafted by the emperor himself. Therefore, Li Qing had to be recommended by Li Linfu to realize his wish, but Li Linfu was only recommended, and the real decision was in the hands of Li Longji.

Li Longji took the memorial and fell into deep thought. It was his plan to let Li Qing return to Shazhou as the governor, but when he returned from Suzhou, he stayed in Jiangzhou for half a day, which made Li Longji change his mind and tend to be a civil servant.

But now Li Linfu's plan made Li Longji a little moved. Being a deputy and chief official in charge of government affairs is indeed a feasible choice.

Li Longji was hesitating, and when he tilted his eyes, Gao Lishi was hanging his hands and silently, he smiled habitually: "General, come and serve my staff, should Li Qing go west or east?"

Gao Lishi hurriedly replied in panic: "How dare I interrupt such a big deal?"

"It's okay, just say it, I want to hear your opinion."

"this......"

Gao Lishi hesitated for a moment before slowly saying: "I have a shallow understanding, but I have seen many things for many years with the emperor. I once thought, if Huangfu Weiming did not lead the army, what time would the emperor know that he was a person with ulterior motives?"

Li Longji nodded secretly, Gao Lishi reached the key point in his words. If Li Qing becomes prime minister in the future and he is the second Huangfu Weiming, then what should we do? He should be tested first.

At this time, Yu Chaoen came in again to ask for instructions, and Li Qing had been taken outside the imperial study room.

"Come in!"

Li Qing strode in and bowed to Li Longji and said, "My dear Li Qing, please see Your Majesty!"

"No gift! Give seats."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

When Li Longji saw him sitting down, he smiled and said, "I gave you ten-day holiday. Where did the Minister go to have fun?"

Li Qing hurriedly bowed and said, "If you say that to your Majesty, I will take my wife and daughter to Tanchun, Zhongnan Mountain and go back the day before yesterday."

"Wife and daughter? Then the princess is here too!"

Li Longji smiled and said, "You have raised a problem for me. I have not given an explanation yet in Tubo. I am still waiting to marry the most beautiful lady in the royal family!"

"Your Majesty's kindness of care is engraved in my heart!"

"Forget it, if you want to thank the Imperial Concubine, thank you! If she hadn't forced me back then, I wouldn't have offended Tubo for you!" At this point, Li Longji couldn't help laughing at first.

"It's just that I don't have a title, and I've misered the princess."

"There is nothing to do. You can't let the dignified princess be your concubine!"

Li Longji smiled and waved his hand: "Wait for a year or two, change her name and surname, and I will give her your second wife again, so no one will pay attention."

After talking about Li Qing's family, Li Longji's words slowly turned to the main topic, "I originally wanted to promote the Minister of Works to the Minister of Works, but I have no 31-year-old Minister of the Tang Dynasty, and I don't want to break this precedent, so I plan to leave the Minister of the Secretariat for a few years and then enter the court to become the Minister of Works after the training is mature. What do you think?"

After these days of deployment, it was finally time to harvest. Whether it was a good harvest with a full grain of rice or a thin harvest with few grains. It was just that. Li Qing took a deep breath and said in a deep voice: "The emperor has orders, and those who are ministers should obey it. How can we talk about 'what if we want to do it?'"

"You're so pleased, then how about I let you go to Suzhou to be the governor?"

"I obey the order!" Li Qing agreed without hesitation, without any expression on his face. Li Longji stared at his eyes tightly, trying to find a hint of panic or disappointment from his eyes, but no, Li Qing's expression was as calm as usual.

"This is not a decision. I just ask if you want to be the governor of Suzhou."

Li Longji smiled faintly and said, "You have been a minister for nearly four years and have made many achievements. I have solved the difficult situation of the court. You should reward you well. Tell me! Where do you think of as a local official, Yangzhou or Suzhou, I can consider your opinions."

Li Qing pondered for a moment and looked up and said, "Report to Your Majesty, I want to be an official in a more barren place and do some practical things for the people. The ministers in Suzhou and Yangzhou do not want to go."

This is ambiguous. He doesn't say where he wants to go, but just doesn't want to go to Suzhou or Yangzhou. If he doesn't know another option, it might be to go to Lingnan, but he already knows the answer, and the other option is the Western Regions.

"Actually, I know what the minister thinks."

Li Longji sighed, leaning slowly on the dragon throne, looking a little tired. He looked at Li Qing, his eyes softened, and he slowly said, "I know that you have always missed your old subordinates in Shazhou. When you raid thousands of miles, killed the thief chiefs, and seized the fortress, you were so vigorous and arrogant. Just when you were showing your talents, I transferred you back to Chang'an. I stayed for four years. Over the years, you lost your anger, and your sharp edges and corners were smooth. I don't know whether this is a good or a bad thing. I am old and my life is coming to an end. I don't want to make a young man like you feel as dull as he is. Well, Li Qing listens to the Feng!"

"I'm here!"

"I have appointed you as the Censor, Deputy Protector of Anxi Protectorate, Deputy Envoy and Chief of Anxi Jiedu, and Leader of Shazhou Governor and Governor Dou Lu Jun."
Chapter completed!