Chapter 85: Flowing water

As the New Year approaches, the atmosphere of the New Year in Chang'an City has also begun to become stronger. The sound of firecrackers can be heard everywhere. Firecrackers are not today's firecrackers, but throwing short bamboo joints into the fire, listening to the bursting sounds of their burning to drive away ghosts and evil spirits. Every household begins to change window paper, sweep away filth, paste peach talismans, pound rice cakes, hang wind chickens, and smoked bacon. The whole Chang'an City is immersed in the festive celebration of the New Year.

That morning, a group of people came from outside the Golden Light Gate of Chang'an. This was also an army, with about one hundred people, each with bright armor and burly figure. The chief general among them was about forty years old, with a thin face, and three long beards left under his jaw. Although he was wearing armor, he had a bit of Confucian spirit. He was Wang Zhongsi, the governor of Hexi, Longyou and Hexi.

Wang Zhongsi was hailed as the God of the Tang Dynasty in later generations. He commanded the troops for twenty years and won every battle, making extraordinary contributions to the peace of the prosperous times of the Kaiyuan period of the Tang Dynasty.

Last year, his military career reached its peak and served as the four major military governors of Shuofang, Hedong, Longyou and Hexi. Almost half of the border troops of the Tang Dynasty were in his hands. He enjoyed a high prestige among the Tang army and would turn against everything. His excessive military power began to make Li Longji feel uneasy.

At the beginning of the year, he was removed from the position of Shuofang and the governor of Hedong. In July, Li Longji ordered him to take down Shibao City, but he refused. Li Longji then ordered the general Dong Yanguang to attack Shibao City, but failed miserably. Dong Yanguang turned the blame on Wang Zhongsi. In a rage, Li Longji summoned Wang Zhongsi to the capital.

Following Wang Zhongsi's aide Du Yanbin, contrary to Wang Zhongsi's calmness, Du Yanbin was worried. He had persuaded Wang Zhongsi more than once that he could not resist the emperor's will, but Wang Zhongsi always believed that, "Stone Castle City is difficult and dangerous, Tubo defended it with all the troops of the whole country. If the Tang army attacked it with force, tens of thousands of deaths and injuries may not be possible. It is really not worth the gain. It is better to plan for a long time and wait for the opportunity."

Du Yanbin was unable to persuade Wang Zhongsi in the end, and what made him even more worried was that he heard that Dong Yanguang sent a secret letter to the emperor a few days ago, and he was afraid that the content of the letter would make Wang Zhongsi more inauspicious.

"Master, why not apologize to the emperor immediately, and there may be a turning point." Du Yanbin whispered to Wang Zhongsi.

Wang Zhongsi shook his head and said, "If he wants to get rid of me, what's the use of apologizing?"

As soon as he finished speaking, a large group of people suddenly came to the front, including hundreds of feathered cavalry. There were two people in front, one was a civil servant and the other was a eunuch. The eunuch rushed forward and asked sternly: "Is the person coming from Wang Zhongsi, the governor of Longyou?"

Wang Zhongsi bowed and said, "That's right!"

The eunuch sneered, raised the Baima imperial edict in his hand, and said, "Your Majesty's decree is here, Wang Zhongsi will accept the imperial edict."

Wang Zhongsi hurriedly turned over and got off the horse, knelt on the ground and said, "My minister Wang Zhongsi, accept the imperial edict of Your Majesty."

The eunuch opened the imperial edict and said loudly: "Longyou, the governor of Hexi, Wang Zhongsi, was deeply grateful to the holy grace, but he did not want to repay the emperor. He held troops to respect himself. He was suspected of being rebellious. He specially took down the Dali Temple Prison and ordered the Three Divisions to conduct a trial. I respect this!"

The eunuch received the imperial edict, waved his hand left and right, and shouted: "Take it down!"

He rushed to a large group of Yulin soldiers and held Wang Zhongsi down and left and right. Wang Zhongsi's personal soldiers were shocked and rushed forward to rescue him. Wang Zhongsi turned around and shouted, "You must not be arrogant!"

The personal soldiers stopped and did not dare to act rashly. At this time, the civil servant turned over and dismounted and bowed to Wang Zhongsi and said, "The King of Envoys, Ji Wen, the young minister of Dali Temple, is wronged by the King of Envoys to come with me."

Wang Zhongsi felt sad, and he sighed and said, "I hope Ji Shaoqing can enforce the law impartially and give Wang a fairness."

Ji Wen sneered, "In the heart of the Lord of Justice."

In just one morning, the news of Wang Zhongsi being arrested on the streets of Chang'an spread throughout the city. This general who once controlled half of the border troops of the Tang Dynasty actually ended up being arrested, which made countless people sigh, but some discerning people think that this is a matter of time sooner or later. Wang Zhongsi's military power is too strong, which has aroused suspicion from the emperor. There are many different opinions and rumors spread throughout Chang'an.

These two days happened to be the last rest of the kitchen sacrifice and the court rested for two days. Gao Lishi also had half a day of leisure and did not go to Xingqing Palace to serve the emperor.

Like usual, Gao Lishi came to the polo court to watch the players practice, but today he was a little absent-minded. He had learned that Wang Zhongsi was arrested. Although he knew that Wang Zhongsi was in danger, he still underestimated the determination of the emperor. It was obvious that the emperor no longer wanted to listen to Wang Zhongsi's explanation.

Gao Lishi sighed softly. Wang Zhongsi had become an ironclad case and no one could save him. The key is the prince. How deep the prince will be involved in this case is what he cares about.

At this time, a cheer came from the polo court, and the practice competition was over. Team A, led by Li Qing'an, defeated Team B with a big score.

The polo players came forward to ask for rewards. Gao Lishi smiled and said to the butler next to him: "It's rare to be in good spirits today, each person will be rewarded with a hundred trump card."

"Thank you Aweng for the reward!"

The polo players were overjoyed and thanked them for the money. At this time, Gao Lishi said to Li Qing'an: "Qilang, please stay!"

"Is there anything wrong with Gou?"

"You can accompany me to the back garden!"

Li Qingan nodded. Since he served as the Nine Gate Patrol Commander, he has rarely had time to practice polo. Today he also took a short time to practice polo with Gao Lishi's polo team.

The back garden on Gallis Mansion is very large, with a natural lake. The lake water has a thick layer of ice, and the lake surface is smooth and bright. Several servants are repairing the path by the lake. When they see Gallis coming, they all get up to greet them.

Gao Lishi smiled and waved his hand to keep them busy. The two of them walked a corner. Gao Lishi slowly said, "Qilang, have you heard of what happened this morning?"

"I have been at Gao Weng's mansion all morning, I wonder what happened?"

Gao Lishi sighed and said, "This morning, Wang Zhongsi was imprisoned."

Li Qingan was stunned. Is Wang Zhongsi not Hexi, the governor of Longyou? Why was he arrested? His thoughts changed and he asked, "Are he arrested in Longyou or Chang'an?"

Gao Lishi glanced at him and said, "He was returning to Beijing to report his work. He just entered the city this morning and received the imperial edict. Qilang, what do you think about this?"

Li Qingan lowered his head and pondered. He only knew that in history, Wang Zhongsi was arrested because he had a close relationship with the prince, but he was not very clear about the specific details. He did not expect that this happened before his eyes.

"Mr. Gao, please tell me if you have any questions."

Gao Lishi looked at him with praise and smiled, "You are very smart and I guessed what I mean at once. I want you to do something for me."

"Please say it, Mr. Gao!"

Gao Lishi took a few more steps behind his back, and then slowly said, "Take me a message to Li Xiangguo and tell him that only fine water can flow forever."

In Xingqing Palace, Li Linfu stood outside the Datong Hall waiting for Li Longji's summoning. He only got the exact news that Wang Zhongsi was arrested this morning. Ji Wen sent his family to inform him urgently. Soon, the news came one after another. Wang Zhongsi was arrested by the Yulin Army in the Jinguang Gate and was placed in the Dali Temple Prison.

This incident happened very suddenly, and Li Linfu had no news in advance, and the emperor's imperial edict was not issued through the Secretariat, but was sent by the Hanlin Scholar. But he knew very well that no matter how the emperor arranged the arrest of Wang Zhongsi, the final trial would still be completed through him, Li Linfu.

"The emperor has an order to announce the visit of Prime Minister Li!"

The voice of an eunuch came from the high steps. Li Linfu quickly corrected his hat, picked up his robe and went up the steps.

Li Longji moved to Xingqing Palace three days ago. Xingqing Palace was his first residence when he was a prince. After several large-scale transformations, it has become the third largest palace group comparable to the Kanming Palace and the Tai Chi Palace. After he appointed Yang Yuhuan as the imperial concubine, he often brought her here to live for a while, but this time he officially moved to Xingqing Palace for a permanent residence.

Li Longji's imperial study was located in Datong Hall, which was a small palace of deliberation. It could not be held in a grand dynasty, but he could summon important officials to come here to discuss military and national affairs.

Li Longji had just heard the reply from the eunuch in charge that Wang Zhongsi had been taken down from the Dali Temple Prison and was waiting for the Tribunal of the Third Department. The so-called Tribunal of the Third Department is the three judicial institutions of the Ministry of Justice, the Censorate and the Dali Temple jointly reviewed major cases. According to the level of the officials participating in the trial, they were divided into Grand Three Departments and Mid Three Departments.

In fact, eliminating Wang Zhongsi was one of Li Longji's series of deployments. His goal was very simple, which was to eliminate all border generals who supported the prince. First, Huangfu Weiming, the governor of Longyou. In the fifth year of Tianbao, after the Wei Jian case broke out, Huangfu Weiming was reported to have collusion with Wei Jian, so he successfully eliminated Huangfu Weiming.

The next target is Wang Zhongsi. Wang Zhongsi grew up in the palace since he was a child and had a very good relationship with Prince Heng. If the prince initiated a forced palace, then Wang Zhongsi would undoubtedly be a front pawn. How could Li Longji tolerate him being in charge of military power for a long time?

However, Wang Zhongsi served as the governor of Hedong and Shuofang had been deeply rooted in the army. In order to successfully transfer him from Shuofang and Hedong, Li Longji took a dangerous move and appointed him as the governor of Shuofang, Hedong, Hexi and Longyou towns, and commanded more than 200,000 elite soldiers of the Tang Dynasty.

When Wang Zhongsi's focus shifted to Longyou, Li Longji naturally removed him from his posts as two governors of Shuofang and Hedong. The next step was to imprison him. Li Longji needed a glamorous reason, and Wang Zhongsi refused to attack Shibao City, so he gave Li Longji the best excuse.

"Your Majesty, Li Xiangguo is already waiting outside."

Li Longji waved his hand and said, "Please give him an audience!"

Li Linfu is a dog he raised, and now it is time to use a dog.

After a moment, Li Linfu quickly walked into the imperial study room and bowed to salute, "My minister Li Linfu met His Majesty the Emperor."

"The Prime Minister is exempt from gifts!"

Li Longji waved his hand and smiled, "Today is the day of rest. I am really sorry because I have something to do for a while."

"Your Majesty, the Prime Minister will never rest."

"Well said!"

Li Longji smiled slightly, then took out one of the books from a pile of memorials and said, "You already know the matter of Secretary Xi's request for retirement!"

Li Linfu nodded, and it was just a coincidence that Lu Jingrong, the Minister of Works, had just died, and Xi Yu, the Minister of Rites, became seriously ill. Yesterday, he had officially proposed to resign from his post as Minister of Rites and the Secretary of the Central Committee.

"Your Majesty, I have visited Shangshu Xi yesterday. He is indeed seriously ill and should not be appointed to the court again. I hope your Majesty will allow him to retire."

Li Longji flipped the memorial and threw it on the imperial case casually, saying inadvertently: "I have approved it, but in this way, the position of Minister of Rites is vacant. The Prime Minister might as well consider it for me. Who can fill this position?"

Li Linfu was silent in his heart. In fact, the two positions of Minister of Works and Minister of Rites were vacant, and the emperor only mentioned the Minister of Rites, which means that the position of Minister of Works has been decided. Who would be this? Yang Shenjin, there would be no one else except him.

Li Linfu sighed in his heart. It seemed that the emperor was determined to give him a good match.

"Your Majesty, the Crown Prince's Grand Tutor, and Duke Xu Xiao Songde are highly respected and have outstanding talents. I recommend him as the Minister of Rites."

Li Longji shook his head, "Xiao Songqing is not a good reputation, I will never use him. The prime minister can choose someone else."

Li Linfu pondered for a moment and smiled bitterly: "I can't think of a suitable candidate for a while. Please think twice."

"Okay! There is no hurry to make a decision after the New Year."

Speaking of this, Li Longji took out another memorial and placed it on the imperial case, and said lightly: "The General of the Left Guard, Dong Yanguang, reported that Wang Zhongsi was holding troops and respectful. Now that Wang Zhongsi has gone to Dali Temple to be tried, I will leave this matter to you."

"Please rest assured, your Majesty, I will handle this case carefully!"

After leaving Xingqing Palace, Li Linfu was in a heavy mood. On the one hand, the emperor continued to use him, but on the other hand, he was guarded against him. By erecting Yang Shenjin, he told all the court officials that betraying him Li Linfu would also have good results. This way of controlling ministers with one hand really made him tremble.

Li Linfu sighed secretly, and his thoughts turned to Wang Zhongsi again. Of course, he knew very well why the emperor wanted to deal with Wang Zhongsi. This time, can the prince escape?

The carriage entered Pingkangfang, and after walking for a while, he stopped in front of the mansion. He saw a horse on the stake at the door, and frowned and asked, "Who is here?"

The concierge ran down to report: "Master, it is Li Qing'an, the general of the Central Army, who has come. He said he has something to do to see the master."

‘Li Qing'an?’ Li Linfu couldn't help but wonder what important things he would have, could it be

"Where is he now?"

"Report to the master, he is waiting in the guest room."

"Take him to the study room and see me immediately."

Li Linfu walked out of the carriage and walked quickly to the mansion. He did not see Gao Lishi in the throne today. If he guessed correctly, Li Qing'an should have brought news about Gao Lishi.

Soon, Li Qing'an was taken into Li Linfu's study. The study was very warm and filled with a faint sandalwood. Li Linfu had already changed into a wide-body Zen suit and was sitting behind the desk reading.

"Sir, please see the Prime Minister!"

Li Linfu put down the book and smiled kindly, "Qilang, I haven't seen you for a long time. What are you busy with recently?"

"Report to the Prime Minister, my subordinates have been patrolling recently."

"I know, I mean what you are doing in your spare time?"

"I'm buying a house recently."
To be continued...