No wonder Pei Ji was nervous, because Li Yuan's words were almost heart-wrenching.
Yu Wenhu was the Prime Minister of Otsuka in the Northern Zhou Dynasty, a real powerful official. During the more than ten years of his rule in the Northern Zhou Dynasty, he first deposed Yu Wenjue, the Xiao Min Emperor, and then Yu Wenyu, the Ming Emperor. If not for the powerful man Yu Wenyong sent from heaven, Yu Wen Hu would most likely have become Yang Jian.
things to do.
"Your Majesty, I have no intention of doing this!" Pei Ji kowtowed hurriedly.
He did not dare to bear this crime. If the King of Chu knew about it, he might die without a burial place, and even his family would die completely.
Moreover, Li Yuan's words clearly made him doubt his intentions and that he also wanted to control the power of the imperial court!
Li Yuan sighed: "Pei Ji, I only want to tell you one thing."
"I bowed my head and listened."
"From now on, you must live a good life and assist the King of Chu. If you do this, you may end up well. You must take care of yourself."
Hearing this, Pei Ji's heart dropped to the bottom of his heart. With these words, has His Majesty decided to make the King of Chu the crown prince?
He thought for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said, "Your Majesty, my old minister's broken body is not worth mentioning, but there are some things I would like to say and not inform Your Majesty. I feel unworthy of Your Majesty's favor."
"you say."
"Your Majesty, have you ever thought that the Prince of Chu knew about the Prince's rebellion, but why didn't he tell His Majesty? The Chang'an City Incident, the East Palace, the Prince of Qin's Palace, and the Prince of Qi's Palace were all severely affected, but only the Prince of Chu's Palace was spared. Isn't this strange?
besides......."
"That's enough!" Li Yuan shouted angrily: "Didn't you hear what I said?"
"His Majesty......"
Li Yuan took a deep breath, endured the wind and headache, and scolded him: "The rebellion of Prince Qi has become a fact. I have seen it with my own eyes. Are you saying this to sow discord between our father and son? Pei Ji, am I not?"
It’s too indulgent of you!”
"Damn it, old minister!" Pei Ji lowered his head again. But his heart was tormented. The emperor's statement undoubtedly told himself that he no longer wanted to dwell on the past, let alone investigate the details.
"You don't deserve to die, you are looking for death." Li Yuan snorted coldly and said: "If you don't want to assist King Chu, just go back to Sangquan. This way, you can still save your life."
Pei Ji cried: "Your Majesty, why don't you want to think about it carefully? My loyalty is clear to the sky, the earth, the sun and the moon, so why don't you understand me?"
Seeing this, Li Yuan didn't want to say more, and closed his eyes slightly, "Go down."
Pei Ji wanted to say something else, but the chamberlain stepped forward and asked him to come down. Seeing that the emperor really didn't want to talk anymore, he had no choice but to withdraw.
Li Yuan can think of these words without Pei Ji saying it. However, now that all his sons are dead, there is only one king of Chu left who can take on the big responsibility. And he himself is paralyzed. In this case, he would rather be a fool
.
If you still doubt the only son you can rely on, it may not only lead to a recurrence of tragedy, but also put the Tang Dynasty that he built with his own hands into a dangerous situation. If the King of Chu is not used, will the remaining ones who are still minors be allowed to
Do the bastards become puppets to supervise the country?
He knew how to choose without even thinking about it. What's more, the rebellion between the prince and the King of Qi was not under the command of the King of Chu. That night, the prince's heartbreaking accusation was something he would never forget.
Thinking of this, a burst of fatigue rushed into his brain. He wanted to stay clear, but he couldn't resist the fatigue and could only fall asleep.
After he fell asleep, Zhang Jieyu walked out from behind the curtain and looked at Li Yuan on the couch with an expressionless face.
Outside the palace.
Pei stood silently in the wind for a long time.
He couldn't figure out that although it was true that the prince and the king of Qi were rebelling, the king of Chu was also very suspicious, so why did the emperor turn a blind eye?
Is it really because of the body?
No, he doesn't believe it.
As a good friend of the emperor, he knew very well that the emperor valued authority.
What's the reason?
Pei Ji couldn't figure it out because he would always think about the emperor's behavior from his own perspective.
Not only could Pei Ji not understand the emperor, Li Zhiyun also could not understand Pei Ji.
If in the past he had to be the emperor's minion because he could only rely on the emperor to gain a foothold in the court, then now, the emperor Li Yuan is terminally ill and is likely to die, but he is still unwilling to compromise with reality. Why is this?
loyalty?
Shit's loyalty, Li Zhiyun didn't believe that an old man like Pei Ji would have any loyalty.
In Li Zhiyun's opinion, Pei Ji most likely still wants to keep his own position of power.
"I feel that Pei Ji is still determined to give up."
In the Shence Mansion, Du Ruhui listened to Li Zhiyun talk about Pei Ji's performance in the political hall, and analyzed: "Pei Ji is cunning and jealous. In the past, Liu Wenjing was friendly with him, but after the founding of the Tang Dynasty, he did not tolerate Liu Wenjing again and again.
It can be seen from this that Pei Ji is a man who loves power as much as his destiny.
Now the emperor has difficulty in handling government affairs and has ordered His Highness to supervise the country. Pei Ji has no contact with His Highness on weekdays. He is worried that Your Highness will deal with him. Therefore, he is unwilling to cooperate with Your Highness in every possible way."
"I also think so." Xue Shu said: "Your Highness must deal with Pei Ji as soon as possible, otherwise if he is allowed to visit His Majesty at will, he may cause trouble in the future."
Li Zhiyun walked around the hall with his hands behind his back, thought for a moment, and said: "No, I intend to keep him. If you want to touch him, not now."
Du Ruhui thought for a while and asked tentatively: "Your Highness wants to use Pei Ji to test the saint?"
Li Zhiyun said: "Not only that, Pei Ji has a deep foundation in the court and has a wide range of connections. A single move can affect the whole body. I want to see how many ministers are from Pei Ji."
To fish, you need bait.
In Li Zhiyun's opinion, Pei Ji is a good bait.
Instead of letting him screen the ministers one by one, it would be better to let Pei Ji take the initiative to expose himself. If he does it well, he can directly take the blame.
Du Ruhui said: "If Your Highness has this plan, then Pei Ji needs to be monitored day and night to avoid any oversights."
He thinks this strategy is fine and feasible.
"You're right." Li Zhiyun nodded.
Immediately, he ordered Li Zhen to find someone to keep an eye on Pei Ji.
Immediately afterwards, Li Zhiyun took out two imperial edicts and handed them to Du Ruhui and Xue Shou.
"This is your knighthood. Over there with the generals, I have asked the servant to convey it. I have brought it back to you by the way."
Two imperial edicts, one for each person. Both Du Ruhui and Xue Shou had no titles before, and this time they were both named county officials. He would never favor one over the other and valued generals, but he would not forget the contributions of these staff.
Du Ruhui and Xue Shou were the first to be loyal to him, so of course they should be treated favorably.
Although Li Zhiyun valued them and trusted them, he did not intend to give them the title of Duke of the country directly.
The established rules of ennoblement should not be broken if possible.
What's more, in the future, when he is crowned prince, he can also give them rewards. After he ascends the throne, he can still give them rewards, and he will not treat them badly.
Du Ruhui and Xue Shou also understood very well. Although they were only county officials, they didn't care much. Because they knew very well that now the big thing had been decided, and there would be no shortage of high-ranking officials and titles in the future, so why bother fighting for the glory of this moment.
"I thank Your Highness for your kindness." The two of them held the imperial edict and saluted.
Li Zhiyun helped them up and said with a smile: "You two are my humerus. I have relied on you all the way. You deserve it."
Looking back at the beginning, if Du Ruhui and Xue Shou had not planned for him, it is still unclear whether he could have reached this point.
It can be said that the contributions of Du Ruhui and Xue Shou are well deserved.
In addition to ennobling them, the imperial edict also included personnel appointments, which made Du Ruhui and Xue Shou overjoyed.
After years of hard work, it has finally come to fruition and harvest.