The next day at the court, Wu Chengsi witnessed Li Hong's ascension to the throne as the new king in Hanyuan Hall. As soon as he succeeded to the throne, he impatiently issued two imperial edicts.
In the first decree, all the subordinates of the East Palace were promoted and occupied important positions in the court.
This is a necessary step for every new emperor to ascend the throne. It was not a big deal originally, but Li Honghou's decree aroused discussion.
The emperor of the Tang Dynasty had one queen and four concubines, among whom the four concubines ranked from high to low, namely "noble, virtuous, virtuous, and virtuous".
Li Hong named the three daughters of the Wei family as concubines and the second daughter of the Liu family as concubines of virtue. No one objected to this.
However, regarding the concubine and the queen, he wanted to make Ashnadiyaruo the queen and the daughter of the Pei family to be the concubine, which immediately caused an uproar.
"Your Majesty, according to the ancestral system, when a new emperor ascends the throne, the main concubine is always appointed as the queen. There is absolutely no reason to establish the concubine as the queen!" Pei Yan was the first to stand up and object.
Li Hong just sat on the emperor's seat. He was so high-spirited that he was not willing to listen to the advice, and said: "I have already decided, you don't need to say more."
Pei Yan did not back down, and said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, before the death of the late emperor, he asked you to discuss matters with the courtiers and never act arbitrarily. Do you still remember?"
Li Hong's voice was stern: "Are you using the late emperor to suppress me?"
This was probably the first time in his life that he was so tough, but Wu Chengsi couldn't feel the slightest bit of pressure from him.
Standing in his current position, he finally understands why it often takes a few years for a new emperor to establish his authority after he ascends the throne.
Having said that, with Wu Zetian here, Li Hong probably will never have this opportunity in his life.
Pei Yan seemed to have the same feeling as Wu Chengsi. He was not afraid of Li Hong's anger and argued with reason:
"Your Majesty, if you want to make another queen, you need to call the world and tell the world about the crimes committed by the crown princess. Only when the government and the public agree to unanimously agree, can you make another princess. At that time, you can make the new princess a queen.
Comply with regulations.”
Li Jingxuan came out and said: "I second the proposal."
Immediately afterwards, all the ministers came out and seconded the proposal.
Li Hong was a coward by nature, and when he saw that he could not control these officials even when he was angry, he couldn't help but look at the officials who originally belonged to the East Palace and asked them for help.
Dai Zhide had just been promoted to the title of Minister of Huangmen. He was very proud. He immediately stood up and said loudly: "Who your Majesty appoints as your queen is a family matter of your Majesty. All we have to do is obey."
Pei Yan said coldly: "The queen is the mother of a country, and it is a major matter for the country. Everyone has a stake. When Dai Shilang was in the East Palace, it was just a yes man. This is the court, not a place for you to talk nonsense!"
Dai Zhide was shocked and angry, and said: "You...you..."
Su Dingfang snorted and said: "Pei Pushe is right. Dai Shilang has never decided on major affairs in the DPRK. You should speak less on such occasions!"
Dai Zhide looked at the other important ministers. Except for a few former East Palace ministers, the other ministers looked at him with disdain.
Although he is not young, he does not have any prestige in the court. Now he dares to be arrogant in the court. Naturally, no one will look down on him?
Li Hong suddenly felt a little guilty. He felt that the ministers below were looking at him with strange eyes, and he quickly looked towards Liu Rengui.
This look turned out to be empty.
"Didn't Liu Zhongshu come today?" he asked in surprise.
Wu Chengsi was speechless, and Li Hong only now realized that Liu Rengui had not arrived.
Before he went to court, he heard from Su Dingfang that Liu Rengui was so sad last night that his body collapsed and he could no longer get up.
Liu Qixian said: "Back to Your Majesty, Liu Zhongshu caught wind and cold last night and was bedridden, so he was unable to go to court."
Li Hong said anxiously: "Liu Shizhong, don't you also support me in making Ashenad the queen?"
Liu Qixian was silent for a while and said: "Your Majesty, what Pei Pushe said is reasonable. Please think again."
Wu Chengsi shook his head secretly. The ministers relied on the rules and regulations of the imperial court to compete with the emperor.
Now that Li Hong wants to bypass these regulations and act arbitrarily, no minister will agree.
Seeing that all the ministers were against him, Li Hong felt angry and panicked at the same time. He waved his hand and said: "Retreat!" He quickly left the palace through the corner gate.
Wu Chengsi slowly walked out of the hall with his hands behind his hands, thinking about the changes in the situation of the court.
Li Zhi passed away, Wu Mei retreated to the second line, and the new monarch lacked prestige and was unable to control the courtiers.
The right to speak in the court is like a piece of cake without an owner, everyone wants to join in and get more.
Pei Yan fought with the new emperor not only because the princess was the daughter of the Pei family, but also because he also hoped to secure his position as a minister who cared about life.
The ministers are naturally still loyal to Li Tang and the emperor in their hearts, but as long as their own interests are involved, they will try their best to fight for them.
The next court situation will inevitably evolve into a battle between the new king and his ministers. This battle will not threaten the new king's status, but will determine his future authority.
This is a problem every newbie faces.
A king with high intelligence and ruthless methods can often unify the voices of the government and the public more quickly and truly achieve stability.
Those less powerful monarchs are likely to be suppressed by ministers at the beginning of their succession.
However, imperial power has natural advantages. As time goes by, the king's authority will only continue to increase and accumulate.
Only a very small number of incompetent kings will be controlled by ministers for a long time.
Just as Wu Chengsi's thoughts continued to wander, a person suddenly approached and said with a smile: "His Royal Highness, King Zhou, I wonder what you think about His Majesty's plan to establish a queen?"
Wu Chengsi glanced sideways and saw that it was Pei Yan who came over.
He is now at the head of the generals, holds military power, and has close relations with Li Ji, Su Dingfang, and Liu Qixian. He can be said to be the most powerful official in the court.
It is normal for Pei Yan to come over to seek his support.
Not far behind Pei Yan, Li Jingye stood with his hands behind his back.
Wu Chengsi had long heard someone mention that Pei Yan married his daughter to Li Jingye's son two days before the winter hunt.
The two seemed to predict that Li Zhi would die soon after holding the winter hunt, so they formed an alliance in advance to jointly deal with the new court situation.
Wu Chengsi snorted coldly and said: "How can I let a Turkic woman become my Empress of the Tang Dynasty?"
Pei Yan was overjoyed and said: "Your Highness is absolutely right. How can a barbarian daughter be the mother of the world? Isn't that ridiculous?"
After a pause, he cupped his hands and said: "My niece has mentioned His Royal Highness King Zhou's words of protection many times, and I am very grateful. If she can be made queen, the Pei family will never forget His Highness King Zhou's kindness.
."
Wu Chengsi smiled and said: "I just can't stand the Turkic side concubine, so there's no need to be polite to Pei Pushe."
After Pei Yan thanked him, he left with Li Jingye.
Wu Chengsi did not leave the palace, but turned to the Zichen Palace.
Entering the hall, Wu Mei was nowhere to be seen on the throne platform. Wu Chengsi was feeling strange when he suddenly heard Wu Mei's voice coming from the side.
"Chengsi, I am here."
Turning around, she saw Wu Mei, dressed in white, walking out from behind a pillar on the side.
Wu Chengsi asked curiously: "Aunt, what are you doing there?"
Wu Mei glared at him and said, "I have nothing to do. Can't you just walk around in the palace?"
Wu Chengsi heard the complaint in Wu Mei's words and said, "Aunt, if you have any orders, just tell them."
Wu Mei was silent for a while and said slowly: "I also plan to hold a court meeting in Zichen Hall tomorrow. What do you think?"
Wu Chengsi was slightly surprised. He didn't expect Wu Mei to be so direct. After thinking for a while, he said: "My nephew naturally supports it. I am afraid that the ministers will criticize me. After all, I can't reasonably support it."
Wu Mei walked slowly towards the throne platform and said: "Didn't the late emperor say that if there are undecided military and state affairs, this palace will make the decision? This is the legal principle!"
Wu Chengsi walked up and heard that Wu Mei planned to make the court meeting a regular thing, and said: "Your Majesty will hold a court meeting every three days from now on. Do you plan to do the same?"
Wu Mei sat down on the dragon chair and said: "I plan to open the palace once every nine days, on the ninth day of every month. What do you think?"
Wu Chengsi would not object and said: "Aunt, my nephew wants to deal with the Xiao Wei family during the court meeting tomorrow."
Wu Mei thought for a while and said: "The three daughters of the Wei family are now concubines. The emperor may intervene to stop it. Can you make a plan?"
Wu Chengsi said in a deep voice: "My nephew has thought about it. These two families are extremely cunning and we must not give them time to adapt. Even if they cannot be fully convicted tomorrow, at least they must be put under house arrest first."
Wu Mei nodded and said nothing more.
Today, the Xiao and Wei families are like meat on the table, unable to make waves. All they need to consider is how to strike.
Wu Mei suddenly pointed to a piece of paper on the table and said: "Chengsi, look at this "Xiping Stone Classic", can I see any progress in my calligraphy?"
Wu Chengsi held his chin and commented for a while, then shook his head and said: "My nephew can't tell, it seems to be almost the same as before, there is no change."
Wu Mei glanced at him and said: "Calligraphy is the best way to cultivate one's body. Your concubine is quite good at it. If you have time to learn more, it won't do any harm to you in leading the army, right?"
Wu Chengsi touched his nose and nodded in response.
After leaving the Zichen Palace, Wu Chengsi glanced around, but unfortunately he did not see Shangguan Wan'er's petite figure.
Since the last time he heard her reveal her difficulties, Wu Chengsi was deeply moved and often worried about her. Unfortunately, although she was young, she had a fierce temper.
She didn't know why she didn't want to leave the palace, even if Wu Chengsi wanted to take her back to the palace, there was nothing he could do.
After leaving the palace gate, Wu Chengsi met up with Feng Wu and other personal guards outside the palace. He was about to go to the west camp when he suddenly saw someone walking towards him.
Seeing the man's face, Wu Chengsi raised his eyebrows and said, "Mr. Xiao, do you have anything to do with me?"
The person who came was none other than Song Guogong Xiao Kai. He said with a serious face: "Your Highness, King Zhou, I want to make a deal with you."
Wu Chengsi narrowed his eyes and said nothing.
Xiao Kai said slowly: "The lives of my Xiao family are in your hands, are you still afraid of listening to what I have to say?"
When Wu Chengsi saw what he said directly, he was secretly vigilant: "The fight between trapped beasts is the most ferocious. The Xiao family should also know that he is about to attack them and will never sit back and wait for death."
"What do you want to say? I am listening."
Xiao Kai said: "It's not convenient to speak here. Your Highness, would you like to take a step to speak?"
Wu Chengsi was silent.
Xiao Kai smiled and said: "Your Jinwu Guards have been keeping an eye on my mansion. Are you still afraid that I will assassinate you?"
Wu Chengsi said calmly: "I don't like to be led by others. If you want to say something, say it here."
Xiao Kai was silent for a while and then said with a smile: "I didn't expect that His Highness the King of Zhou, who annihilated the Khitan people, would be so timid."
"It's not your turn to judge whether I am brave or not."
Xiao Kai sighed and said: "His Royal Highness, King Zhou, may I take the liberty to ask, when do you plan to take action against our two families?"
Wu Chengsi folded his hands and remained silent.
Xiao Kai touched his beard and said slowly: "I might as well make a guess. The Queen Mother should also hold a court meeting in the next two days, and you plan to attack us at the court meeting, right?"
Wu Chengsi was shocked because this old man could guess what Wu Mei and himself were thinking.
Xiao Kai smiled bitterly and said: "To be honest, if you and the Queen Mother really want to attack our family, we will not be able to resist at all, but..."
Wu Chengsi still didn’t respond.
Xiao Kai raised his chin and said: "Although our family has declined, we still have some prestige among the Guanlong family."
Wu Chengsi yawned, turned to Feng Wu and said, "What time is it?"
"Two quarters at noon." Feng Wu replied.
Wu Chengsi said: "Then we have to go back to the military camp quickly. I didn't sleep well last night. I need to catch up on my sleep at noon today."
Xiao Kai's face darkened and he said: "If our two families lead the Guanlong clan in a desperate attempt, although they cannot escape the fate of destruction, they can paralyze the imperial court and plunge the world into turmoil!"
Wu Chengsi smiled as if he had heard a joke, raised his head and looked at Yunjiao, seemingly not even interested in refuting.
Xiao Kai said coldly: "His Royal Highness King Zhou, you are young, so naturally you don't understand the power of the family."
"Yeah?"
"I can put it bluntly, the world is so big. Without the support of the family, the emperor would not be able to rule the four directions, and all the people in the world would rebel!"
Wu Chengsi said: "As long as the court treats the people well, how can the people rebel?"
Xiao Kai hummed: "Your words make people think and laugh. The emperor only has one pair of eyes and one pair of hands. The aristocratic families are the eyes of the emperor everywhere. Without our assistance, how can the emperor govern the world?"
Wu Chengsi said: "You seem to have confused officials with aristocratic families."
Xiao Kai said: "Most of the officials in the world come from aristocratic families. The common people are illiterate. Do you think they have the ability to govern a country?"
"Not necessarily?"
Xiao Kai has always been very well-educated, but after his conversation with Wu Chengsi, he was almost filled with anger.
He had a feeling that the young man in front of him looked down on the wealthy family from the bottom of his heart.
Xiao Kai took a deep breath and said slowly: "His Royal Highness, King Zhou, do you know how many officials there are in the imperial court?"
Wu Chengsi shook his head.
Xiao Kai narrowed his eyes and said: "There are more than 12,000 officials of the ninth rank and above in the imperial court. There are more than 2,000 officials from our Guanlong family in the imperial court."
Wu Chengsi said: "You want to say that more than two thousand of you are already tied together. If I want to attack you two, they will not agree?"
Xiao Kai said lightly: "I don't have enough prestige to make them all unite sincerely, but half of them are at least willing to live and die with my Xiao Wei family."
Wu Chengsi said coldly: "So what, even if all these more than a thousand official positions are vacant, will the imperial court be paralyzed?"
Xiao Kai put a smile on his face again and said: "Of course not, but you should also know the truth of lip death and tooth coldness, right? Have you ever thought about which side the other families will be on when the time comes?"
Wu Chengsi remained silent, seemingly lost in thought.
Xiao Kai continued: "Of course, this is just my opinion. You may think that not so many Guanlong clans are willing to live and die with me. And even if they are willing, other clans may not be on our side.
"
Immediately, he changed the topic and said in a solemn tone: "But this possibility exists. Just to deal with our two families, you take the risk of chaos in the world. Do you think it is worth it?"
Wu Chengsi still didn't speak, but his brows furrowed deeply.
Xiao Kai cheered up and said: "You may think that we should simply kill all these noble families. Anyway, the imperial examination has been held for many years, and half of the officials are from the private sector. The remaining half can be selected from the private sector."
Wu Chengsi's eyes flashed slightly.
Xiao Kai's face darkened and he said: "I might as well tell you that this approach will definitely lead to chaos in the world!"
Wu Chengsi asked: "Why?"
Xiao Kai said: "Throughout the ages, there have been so many talented people in the world. Have you ever thought about it, if the imperial examination is really a good strategy for selecting candidates, why was it not implemented until the previous dynasty?"
"Appreciate further details!"
Xiao Kai touched his beard and said: "It's actually very simple. Although the imperial examination has many advantages, it has a huge disadvantage!"
"What's the harm?"
Xiao Kai said: "As soon as the imperial examinations were opened, people all over the world rushed to study. Reading will inevitably open up wisdom. If all the people in the world are wise, the people will notice any slight injustice in the court and cause resentment. Can the country be stable?"
Wu Chengsi was stunned when he heard this.
Xiao Kai seemed to like dialectical thinking, and added: "Of course, the imperial examination also has many benefits, and it can indeed attract civilian talents. I am not opposed to the imperial examination.
In fact, I have thought deeply about the pros and cons of the imperial examination, and if the changes are made properly, the disadvantages of the imperial examination can be avoided."
Wu Chengsi asked: "How to modify it?"
"First of all, we need to strictly control the number of official positions in the imperial examination and suppress the trend of reading among the people. Then we need to control the subjects of the imperial examination and guide the scholars to read books that are loyal to the emperor, patriotic, and humble. In this way, a small number of enlightened people can only
Will be loyal to the royal family and country."
Wu Chengsi snorted secretly and said nothing.
Xiao Kai said: "When officials are appointed, they still have to be selected from aristocratic families. The imperial examination can only be a supplement. If the imperial examination is completely liberalized, the world will be in chaos!"
Wu Chengsi sneered and said: "You have said so much, just because you want to say that the imperial court cannot do without you aristocratic families?"
Xiao Kai said seriously: "This is not my opinion alone. Throughout the ages, the royal family and the aristocratic families have been interdependent. Without the aristocratic family between the royal family and the common people, the imperial power cannot be stable."
After a pause, he continued: "His Royal Highness, King Zhou, your Wu family has figures like you and the Queen Mother, and they will definitely become part of the family in the future. Don't you hope that future generations can rely on your legacy to become officials?"
Wu Chengsi somewhat admired this old guy. He was so eloquent despite his age.
Xiao Kai refused to stop talking and continued: "We, the Xiao Wei family, did commit a serious crime in that incident. We are willing to donate all our property and resign from our official positions. We only hope that you can be noble and let us go."
Wu Chengsi remained silent for a long time.
After recovering for a long time, he sighed and said: "Master Xiao is far-reaching and I admire him. For me, the two most important points are the money in the treasury and the stability of the country."
Xiao Kai looked happy: "Then you..."
Wu Chengsi changed the topic and said: "But I can't make the decision alone on this matter. Please ask Mr. Xiao to let me discuss it with the Queen Mother."
Xiao Kai said hurriedly: "What you are saying is that the Queen Mother's consent is naturally required for this matter."
Wu Chengsi said: "Without further delay, I will enter the palace immediately to discuss this matter with the Queen Mother. I will definitely give you an accurate letter tomorrow night at the latest!"
Xiao Kai bowed and said, "I'm waiting for your good news."
Watching Xiao Kai gradually go away, Wu Chengsi turned to Feng Wu and said, "I want to go into the palace again, you guys wait for me outside."
"You really want to enter the palace?" Feng Wu seemed a little surprised.
Wu Chengsi was secretly amused: "This girl is quite sharp. She actually guessed that I was lying to Xiao Kai just now." He replied: "That's natural."
After saying that, he returned towards Daming Palace.