Regarding the clan members, Li Chengqian was angry and helpless, and his feelings were extremely complicated.
If it were not for the descendants of the clan who supported Emperor Gaozu in launching an army in Jinyang, and then followed Prince Yin and Emperor Taizong to fight bloody battles without risking their own lives, the Tang Dynasty would not be what it is today. They made outstanding contributions to the empire.
However, when those group of clan members died or gradually withdrew due to their old age, their descendants quickly became corrupted and degenerated at a jaw-dropping speed. To this day, among the clan members, only a few can stand in court.
How many people can command an army?
On the contrary, they are ambitious and have no superiority. When fighting for power and profit, everyone is like a wolf and a tiger, and they are not afraid of death.
In time, if the imperial power of the Tang Empire is on the verge of collapse due to external threats, who of these people who are dancing happily today can stand up to turn the tide and help the building to collapse?
I'm afraid there won't be any of them, and I can only become the target of slaughter by the enemy, watching helplessly as others steal all the power of the empire bit by bit.
But after all, these are his uncles and brothers, and their general interests are consistent with his. You can't just kill them all just because you're upset, right?
Li Chengqian couldn't take action, nor could he be cruel.
Therefore, he was extremely angry at Li Xiaoxie's blatant "moral kidnapping" and said to Li Junxian: "Go out and tell him that he will be deprived of his dukedom, demoted to the king of Xun County, and imprisoned in the mansion for three years without being allowed to go out. If you let me do it again,
If you hear that you are stirring up trouble in secret and refuse to settle down, then you will be punished and punished without any mercy."
"...Here."
Li Junxian agreed, but in his heart he felt that such a punishment was too lenient. No matter what, the title should be revoked to the end, so that his descendants could not serve in official positions for generations, so as to serve as a warning to the monkeys...
However, His Majesty was kind and soft-hearted, so he could not say more, so he turned around and quickly walked out of the imperial study, went to Chengtian Gate, and read out His Majesty's decree in public.
Li Xiaoxie, who was kneeling on the bluestone outside Chengtian Gate, his back hurting because of the thorns tied behind his back, couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief when he heard this. Li Shenfu's method really worked...
He barely squeezed out a few tears, pretended to be regretful and grateful, and said loudly: "I know I have sinned, and I will never dare to do it again! Your Majesty is kind and generous, and you forgive me for being disrespectful. It is really great."
God bless the Tang Dynasty!"
After thanking him, he got up and hurriedly returned home by car with the servants at his service. He closed his door to reflect on his past mistakes and secretly sent a letter to Li Shenfu to contact him...
The officials and passers-by nearby whispered to each other, saying that His Majesty was indeed a benevolent king through the ages.
But some people think that this approach is inappropriate. Blind mercy is not a long-term solution. Otherwise, what is the use of laws? Of course, mercy is good, but when it is time to use heavy laws, you still have to be ruthless, otherwise you will not achieve it.
It only serves to scare others, but it only serves as a warning to others. Who would be afraid of the imperial power?
*****
As soon as Fang Jun returned to his home in Chongrenfang, the news of Li Xiaoxie's "pleading for mercy" in front of the palace came... His face remained calm, he quickly entered the gate and asked the servant who came forward: "Is father in the palace?"
"I'm writing in the study."
"Um."
Before he had time to wash up and change clothes, Fang Jun went directly to the study and said to the servant in front of the door: "I have important matters to discuss with my father, and no one else is allowed to come near."
"Here."
The servant quickly responded and stepped forward to open the door. After Fang Jun entered, he closed the door and stood guard at the door to prevent others from approaching.
In the study room, Fang Xuanling was wearing a round-necked uniform and a bun on his head. He was sitting in front of the desk and writing. When he saw Fang Jun entering, he put down his brush, picked up the handkerchief on the side, wiped his hands, and said with a smile: "You
Now we don’t even have a serious errand, so why are we still so busy coming in and out all day long? Human beings can not only advance bravely and strive for the top, but also know how to be content with the status quo and do whatever they want. If you cannot reach this state, it will be difficult to achieve great things.
.”
After receiving the gift, Fang Jun sat on the chair next to the desk, picked up the teapot, poured himself a cup of tea, took two sips, and sighed: "It's not that the child's realm is insufficient, it's really that the tree wants to be quiet but the wind doesn't stop..."
Then he told what had just happened.
Fang Xuanling frowned: "You mean that someone wants to use the Helan Chushi incident to deliberately involve you, thereby causing disharmony between Your Majesty and you?"
"That's what I think, but it's also possible that there was some mistake. After all, Helan Chushi was the Jinwu Guard that I arranged to enter. They probably didn't expect that someone would dare to touch Helan Chushi in the Jinwu Guard. The incident happened suddenly and they were a little caught off guard."
It is basically impossible to resell ordnance in the army without being discovered by the general. Especially for elite troops like the Jinwu Guard, it is as difficult as the sky to hide it. So they do not want to take away the weapons without anyone noticing, but
It is because Helan Chushi has been identified that no one can mess with him.
After the ordnance has been collected enough, if the Helan Chushi is thrown out, it will be easy to involve Fang Jun, and it will not be able to be washed away. How can Your Majesty look after Fang Jun?
It's just that Cen Changqian's reaction was too fast, her sense was too keen, and she intuitively felt that this matter was not a trivial matter, so she sent Helan Chushi to "Baiqisi" quickly and smoothly, and picked out Fang Jun steadily...
Fang Xuanling relaxed his brows, sat down to drink tea, and said helplessly: "I haven't asked about these things for a long time. Now my daily life is reading, writing, and looking for some ancient documents to edit the Dictionary. If you have anything, you may as well go with me.
Mei Niang, let’s discuss it. If you think about how to do it, I’m too lazy to ask.”
Fang Jun was speechless.
Since Wu Meiniang's IQ gradually emerged, especially after her successful handling of some matters, she became more and more favored and trusted by Fang Xuanling. Most of the time, Wu Meiniang's opinion would be asked about the Fang family's affairs, and now it has almost become a rule.
After worrying about government affairs for more than ten years, Fang Xuanling probably felt exhausted and bored. Now he was cultivating his mind and character and wanted to live a few more years, so he often pushed things towards Wu Meiniang...
Fang Jun said: "She comes from a womanly family, and her knowledge on such important matters is limited. How can she compare to her father's foresight?"
Fang Xuanling was unmoved and glanced at his son: "Are you afraid that how Helan Chushi entered Jinwu Guard cannot be explained?"
"Ahem..." Fang Jun almost choked on his tea and said hurriedly: "I have requested your Majesty's order and will rush to Hedong in the next two days to rectify the salt affairs."
Fang Xuanling said that she didn't want him to go to Wu Meiniang to discuss it, but she still thought for a moment and nodded: "It's not bad to retreat in order to advance. After all, your Majesty is not the kind of ruthless hero, and his behavior is a bit messy.
Weak, it is difficult to make up your mind until the last moment. Once you leave Chang'an, those people will be much less afraid, and they will definitely speed up the pace and act early. What they are most afraid of is that they are hiding in the dark, waiting for opportunities to hurt people. As long as they jump out early, they can fight.
It’s a dead matter.”
Although he was somewhat dissatisfied with Li Chengqian's indecisiveness, he also knew that the status of the clan was very special and it was difficult to cut through the knot with a sharp knife. Otherwise, he would be self-conscious and self-conscious about his foundation. After all, the clan was the most basic guarantee of imperial power.
.
Those people feel that the danger has been greatly reduced, so they will naturally jump out impatiently. As long as they seize the evidence, no matter what means are used, most of the clan will definitely side with the emperor, thus minimizing the chaos.
However, Fang Xuanling was well aware of his son's character and methods, and warned: "The salt affairs in Hedong are chaotic and complicated. Although corruption continues and production has dropped sharply, as the saying goes, it does not freeze three feet in a day, and the entanglements of interests are almost indistinguishable."
, you just need to take advantage of the situation and increase production, without going to war."
The profit of salt and iron has been the greatest benefit in the world since ancient times. After the fall of the Changsun family, the largest iron factory in the world belonged to the Fang family. The benefits gained made the people in the world jealous. I don’t know how many people want to enter this field to get a share of the pie.
In the same way, the Hedong family has controlled Yanchi for hundreds of years, which is deeply rooted. In order to maintain their huge interests in Yanchi, they have integrated themselves with all over the world through marriage, shareholding, etc., and rashly leveraging the original interest framework will inevitably affect even more people.
It is far away and involves too much. Instead of being able to rectify the salt affairs, we will be trapped in it and unable to move forward.
However, although Fang Xuanling is a gentle gentleman who pays attention to things being done in a timely manner, he also has his fierceness: "If you have to take action, you must use thunderous means. If you don't move, you must completely subdue all parties and kill all threats."
We must not leave any chance for them to counterattack."
Hedong Yanchi has nurtured the Chinese ancestors since the Xia and Shang Dynasties. Today, it has long become one of the largest interest groups in the world. Once the snake is beaten to death and the evil is not eliminated, the backlash will be endless.
Fang Jun nodded solemnly: "Father, don't worry, I will remember it."
Fang Xuanling waved her hand: "You are now on your own, and you may have neglected some things, so I will give you a few more words. But I believe you can take appropriate measures to solve problems when you face them. I don't have much to teach you.
You only have one thing - break it off...go, go back, pack it up, and set off as soon as possible."
"Here."
Fang Jun stood up, saluted and said goodbye.
Fang Xuanling picked up the brush and wrote a few words on the manuscript, then put down the brush and sighed quietly.
The changes in the times were beyond his expectation, and they caught him off guard. For more than a thousand years, the times have been developing continuously, but most of them have changed due to the change of dynasties. Sometimes they have changed.
It gets better, sometimes it gets worse, but generally it stays within the original framework.
The most earth-shaking event was when the First Emperor "written with the same text and drove with the same track", which ended the fragmentation of the world in one fell swoop. Although the Second Emperor of Qin Dynasty died, it laid the foundation for the unification of China.
Then, there is now.
The meaning behind each political system has caused the entire world to change at an incredible speed. The mandatory operation of imperial examinations, the rapid development of natural science, the earth-shaking of interest structures, and the massive expansion of overseas trade...
The times have become more and more difficult for him, the former Prime Minister of the Empire, to adapt to. From this, he has derived a kind of fear, fearing that if he falls one step behind, he will not be able to keep up with the times and will not be able to understand the world.
I don’t even know whether this change is good or bad...