For some people, they regard money as dirt and power as floating clouds. They can be selfless and tough on the whole world, and they can be willing to die for the ideals in their hearts.
But the only thing you can't do is let your reputation be tarnished in the slightest.
As a censor, the head of the noble officials, responsible for correcting hundreds of officials and maintaining discipline, who doesn't want to leave a good reputation for being fair, honest, and selfless?
Criticism is a supremely beautiful name.
But how to become a critic also requires different methods.
Impeaching powerful people and not being afraid of power are essential elements for criticizing ministers, but as Fang Jun has constant scandals with many princesses, what is the use of impeaching him? It is just one more romantic affair, which makes the noise for a while , will be forgotten by the world, and the history of love will not even be written in writing, and no one will care about it.
Only by stripping off Feng Deyi's coat of hero and completely dusting him off can the world be shocked and the history of history be immortalized.
Of course, this move will indeed damage Emperor Taizong's reputation and make His Majesty unhappy, and will bring countless pressures, but so what?
Liu Xiangdao is even willing to let obstacles and pressure come more intensely. After all, who doesn't love the reputation of "Strength Order"?
…
So when Li Chengqian summoned him into the palace and asked him to stop with a vague mention, Liu Xiangdao bowed his head to the ground and said sternly: "Your Majesty appoints me to be the imperial censor. I am so grateful that I am willing to serve your majesty like a dog and a horse." Lao. However, humble ministers can obey orders, but imperial censors cannot. If even the officials who represent a country's judicial justice give up their principles and succumb to power, then where is the justice? Where is the law? If things go on like this, the country will not be able to survive!"
I am a minister and I can listen to you in everything, but the imperial censor cannot obey the emperor's orders. This is a matter of principle.
Li Chengqian did not expect that this guy would change from his usual docility to be so tough, and said hurriedly: "It's not that I don't care about judicial justice, but the matter of Feng Deyi is actually related to the reputation of Emperor Taizong. If Feng Deyi is convicted, wouldn't it be wrong?" Are you saying that Emperor Taizong was foolish and deceived by treacherous ministers?"
Emperor Taizong had been obsessed with becoming the "Eternal Emperor" all his life. How could his son, Emperor Taizong, allow Emperor Taizong's reputation to be smeared?
Liu Xiangdao asked in reply: "Feng De Yi has both sides of the snake and rat, privacy is cunning, does your Majesty admit it?"
Li Chengqian hesitated and said, "If the evidence is conclusive, maybe it's true..."
Liu Xiangdao straightened up and looked firmly: "Since the evidence of Feng Deyi's crime is conclusive, was Emperor Taizong deceived by it?"
Li Chengqian was speechless.
In fact, everyone knows in their hearts that Feng Deyi was treacherous and cunning, and he deceived both Gaozu and Taizong, so much so that after his death, he was awarded a title as a posthumous honor. This is a fact.
Liu Xiangdao stood tall and upright: "Emperor Taizong humbly accepted remonstrances and swallowed mountains and rivers with anger. If he had known at that time that he had wrongly entrusted Deyi, does Your Majesty think Emperor Taizong would have turned a blind eye because his reputation was not tarnished?"
Li Chengqian was still speechless.
However, the fact is that if Emperor Taizong found out about this kind of thing himself, he would be extremely open-minded and aboveboard. But if his son finds out, it may damage the late emperor's reputation and be unfaithful and unfilial...
But these words can only be understood, not expressed. Now that Liu Xiangdao doesn’t want to understand, what can he do?
Li Chengqian sighed and said helplessly: "Even if Feng Deyi has to be impeached, we must grasp the scale carefully. Neither the investigation should be pursued too deeply, nor should it be widely implicated. The current situation of the court has just been decided, and there are still many unstable things. Censor Even if Taiwan maintains discipline and corrects and impeaches hundreds of officials, it must take the overall situation into consideration."
Liu Xiangdao was secretly happy and said hurriedly: "Your Majesty, don't worry, this time we are only targeting Feng Deyi, and we will definitely not involve anyone else."
He understood His Majesty's intention. It was okay to impeach Feng Deyi, but it was enough. He could not uncover all Feng Deyi's deeds indefinitely, causing him to be deprived of his official title even during his lifetime.
In other words, Your Majesty only allows Emperor Taizong's reputation to be "hoodwinked", but he absolutely does not allow Emperor Taizong to be considered "faint." There is a thin line between the two, but they are worlds apart.
Naturally, he agreed happily. The reason why he insisted on impeaching Feng Deyi was because he wanted to establish an image of a critic who was not afraid of power and get rid of the reputation of "the emperor's minion", instead of offending the emperor too much and having no reason to do so.
The bottom line is to tarnish the reputation of Emperor Taizong.
Li Chengqian waved his hand to chase people away: "That's it, let's go ahead and do it."
"Here."
…
During dinner, when she heard that Li Chengqian mentioned that Liu Xiangdao had been allowed to impeach Feng Deyi, Queen Su suddenly became anxious: "How can your majesty agree to this? Once Yushitai impeaches Feng Deyi, it is very likely to affect the entire Feng family.
Wouldn’t the marriage proposal between Si Zi and Feng Simin fall through? Furthermore, this move will definitely damage the reputation of Emperor Taizong, and the government and the public will be talking about it, which will be extremely detrimental to His Majesty."
She quite resented her husband's soft temper.
The emperor would give in when his ministers were a little tough. What would happen if things continued like this?
Li Chengqian chewed his rice carefully and said slowly: "On one side is the reputation of Emperor Taizong, and on the other side is the maintenance of the court's laws. I always have to weigh the pros and cons and choose one or the other. The virtues of the Yi are both snake and rat, and privacy is cunning.
It is a fact, how can I turn a blind eye and deceive myself and others? If this causes Emperor Taizong's reputation to be damaged, I will shoulder the responsibility."
It wasn't that he couldn't forcefully dismiss Liu Xiangdao, but he didn't want to.
Emperor Taizong has great achievements, wisdom and martial arts, and is almost a model of emperors throughout the ages. Even if he is not worthy of the reputation of "one emperor through the ages", there are only a few who can compare with him, such as Emperor Qin and Han Wu. This is very important for a successor king.
It's too much pressure.
In any matter, everyone will compare him with Emperor Taizong, and naturally come to the conclusion that they are inferior...
However, people did not realize that Emperor Taizong was already the best among ancient and modern emperors. It was normal to be inferior to Emperor Taizong. They only said that Li Chengqian was cowardly, dull, incompetent, and not like a wise king.
If Emperor Taizong wasn't so perfect, maybe it wouldn't be a bad thing...
Queen Su's mouth opened slightly, then closed tightly.
She is the most intelligent, and she has been keenly aware of Li Chengqian's attitude on this matter, as well as the indescribable and subtle psychology...
Now that it has risen to the level of a king's honor and disgrace, Sizi's marriage is of no importance.
But looking at the husband who is sharing the same bed in front of me and has a close heart, I feel a little strange for a moment...
*****
The trees were lush and the rain was continuous. The boat cut through the emerald river surface. The wind and rain knocked on the windows, and a bit of cold air poured into the cabin through the cracks in the windows. Fortunately, it was blocked by the heat of the stove and could not invade the cabin.
The winter in the south of the Yangtze River is not as good as the thousands of miles of ice and cold wind in the north, but it is also lingering and cold, freezing to the bone.
In the cabin, Fang Xuanling and Xiao Yu, both dressed in brocade robes, sat facing each other drinking.
Looking at Fang Yize who was cooking wine on one side, Xiao Yu said with envy: "When it comes to our achievements in the country, we are at loggerheads with each other when it comes to our official and noble status. But if we compare how well we teach our children,
, I’m not as rich as you.”
When Fang Yi heard this, he looked at his father first, then smiled and said humbly: "I don't dare to praise the Duke of Song Dynasty."
Fang Xuanling also said: "I don't dare to belittle myself. The sons in my family are indeed good, but you don't have to be too modest about Shi Wen. The Xiao family has a tiger father and a tiger son. The family has a long history. The son climbed on the ice and slept in the snow to guard the northern border for the country.
, guarding Hanhai, and the other sons also know how to write and be polite, and they are filial, and there is no dandy who will envy the world."
Xiao Yu smiled bitterly and shook his head, raised his wine glass and made a toast, and the two of them drank it down in one gulp.
It is easy to conquer the world, but it is difficult to defend it. Their generation went through many hardships and endured thousands of years to fight their way through mountains of corpses and seas of blood to conquer the world. However, future generations will rest on their merits and gnaw at their old age. Many of them are disdainful.
, who make no progress beyond their merits, but prefer to eat, drink, play and enjoy themselves to their heart's content. It's okay to achieve nothing. There are not many people who have completely ruined the achievements of their fathers and ancestors throughout their lives.
Although the children of the Xiao family have not yet reached the point of being "prodigal", they are not much better either.
At their age, they have long looked down upon the honor and disgrace of individuals. Once they ruled the world and directed the country, it was just a fleeting moment. Whether they were the prime minister or the assistant under one person, or the common people who worked hard in the fields, what awaited them would be life and death.
Who is better than whom?
The comparison is to have a successor.
No matter how much you are inferior to ten thousand people, and your achievements are so great that they are famous throughout China, if your descendants are unworthy, they will never be able to lift their heads up. On the contrary, even if you are poor and have no clothes to cover your body, if your descendants are promising, they will be able to straighten their backs and look at you.
worldly people.
And if it was "comparing sons", Xiao Yu knew that even if she gave birth to a hundred children, she would not be able to compare with one Fang Jun...
As Fang Yize poured wine beside him, Xiao Yu said: "I pride myself on being smart and good at judging the situation, but now I have to admire you for being able to retreat bravely at the height of your glory. You have saved your career and fame and left that huge world behind."
In the whirlpool, it is really wise to protect yourself wisely."
Fang Xuanling shook his head: "I have never looked so far ahead. It was just a mistake. After all, it is inevitable for father and son to be in the same dynasty."
Xiao Yu: "..."
You were more modest than my son just now, but now you can't wait to show off?
Fang Xuanling also realized that he seemed unkind, so he changed the topic: "We have been fighting for the whole life, fighting for the world, fighting for merit, fighting for official titles, fighting for status... We have been fighting for our whole life, and we have nothing to fight for.
The fight has been won, and now we are all retired, enjoying the woods and springs, entertaining the grandchildren, thinking about the rights and wrongs of the past, and taking good care of the body to live for a few more years, which is not bad."
Xiao Yu smiled bitterly and said: "If you make a mistake, you will be hated for eternity!"
Although both of them retreated, their methods of retreat were completely different. This time, he was forced to retreat completely. The consequence was that the Lanling Xiao family would not be able to enter the center again for at least several decades.
, and if you want to enter the center again, it will be extremely difficult.
The Xiao family of Lanling was once a member of the Nanliang royal family, but now they have to accept the consequences of being marginalized for a long time...
However, after taking a sip of wine, Xiao Yu reminded: "The reason why I meet you this time is to reminisce about the past in the mist and rain in the south of the Yangtze River. After all, if you say goodbye here, you may never see each other again... and also to give you something.
Just a reminder, after returning to Chang'an, you should always urge Erlang and never be complacent. Chang'an City may seem calm, but in fact there is an undercurrent surging. There is more than just one Li Daozong in the clan."