Li Xian's words obviously moved countless people. Even after he left, everyone was still looking at his back from a distance and stopped for a long time before they dispersed.
However, in the ensuing court meeting, an unprecedentedly fierce quarrel began over the merits and demerits of Li Xian's profession.
While narrating his merits for Li Xian, Zhongshu Ling Xue Yuanchao suddenly jumped out and said loudly: "The Empress of Heaven, I think we should not narrate the merits of His Highness the Crown Prince this time, although His Highness the Crown Prince did defeat the Khitan and the Su Mo Alliance and put down the
There was a rebellion in the north, but during this period, His Highness the Crown Prince killed innocent people indiscriminately, especially those who killed and subdued soldiers. This move was undoubtedly done for the sake of Tianhe, and it failed to show the generosity of the Tang Dynasty. It seriously damaged the power of the Tang Dynasty among the various tribes.
In the past, when Xue Rengui was quelling Tiele's rebellion, he violated military discipline by killing and subduing soldiers. Although His Majesty showed him leniency, he did not claim credit for it and only failed to do so. Now His Highness the Crown Prince's influence is particularly bad, so he is slightly
I believe that even if we do not punish His Highness the Crown Prince this time as a sign of mercy, we can no longer claim merit."
"Well, what Xue Qing said makes sense. What do you think we should do?" Empress Wu glanced at the ministers with her phoenix eyes, and then asked with a frown.
But I saw Di Renjie, the young minister of Dali Temple, bowed and said: "The Empress of Heaven, I think this proposal of Prime Minister Xue is inappropriate. Please think about it. The battle between the two armies is about life and death. Just like when you were walking outside, you encountered an enemy.
Wild wolf, how can you be lenient when your life is threatened at this time? If you are really lenient, I am afraid that it will not have any effect at all except for your own misfortune. It is indeed unreasonable to kill prisoners of war, but we and others
We also need to take a look, who are those prisoners of war? They wanted to kill our soldiers and civilians in the Tang Dynasty. At that time, Prime Minister Xue did not cry out for our Tang people. Later, our Tang Dynasty punished those who committed these crimes.
However, Xue Xiang was treated like a mourner, and the ministers were curious. Is Xiang Xue a minister of the Tang Dynasty, or a minister of the Khitan or Mohe? Isn't it a bit pedantic and ridiculous to say that we should talk about benevolence and righteousness to thieves and good deeds to evil wolves?
Wei Chen seems to have seen another Duke Zhuang of Song."
In fact, Di Renjie has always shown himself as a neutral faction and has never accepted any solicitation from either the East Palace or Empress Wu. Even though Li Xian had been kind to him and used his connections to promote him to official positions, he did not pretend to do so, and
Recently, I expressed my praise for some of the political affairs handled by Empress Wu, which obviously showed a trace of goodwill. However, today I suddenly said such words about Xue Yuanchao, an important member of the rear party, which is really a bit surprising.
As a direct minister, he has always disliked being involved in party disputes, so he almost never spoke when the two factions were fighting in the court. However, he suddenly said something like this today, not because of the party dispute, but because of the real conflict between the parties.
Xue Yuanchao's words were unbearable.
In his opinion, what Xue Yuanchao said was a bit excessive. Prince Li Xian had made so much contribution, how could it be erased with just two sentences? What's more, the so-called trap and murder of prisoners of war was just a
It's just an excuse, and it can't be compared with Li Xian's great achievements. Moreover, the remarks made by Li Xian when he killed prisoners of war have also been circulated. I have to say that they actually won Di Renjie's heart.
It was precisely because of this that Di Renjie boldly refuted Xue Yuanchao's ridiculous remarks regardless of suspicion.
However, he didn't expect that Xue Yuanchao would hold a grudge against Di Renjie from then on, classify him as a member of the East Palace Party, and seek opportunities to suppress him with all his strength, and actually forced Di Renjie completely towards Li Xianfang.
Of course, all this is a thing for later, but at present, Xue Yuanchao shouted sharply: "Di Renjie, do you know what you just said? Our Tang Dynasty is a country of etiquette. It talks about repaying evil with kindness. We must have a heart. It is precisely because of this heart of benevolence and tolerance that our Tang Dynasty has the sincere respect of all the surrounding tribes. But now that His Highness the Crown Prince is unfaithful and cheats and subjugates his soldiers, this will greatly reduce the credibility of our Tang Dynasty. In the future How can we make other states and tribes trust us, the Tang Dynasty? What we gain is temporary benefit, but what we lose is long-term credibility. This is doing more harm than good to the Tang Dynasty. Can’t you see that such a thing What?"
Di Renjie, however, said neither humble nor arrogantly: "The so-called credibility and benevolence must naturally exist, but it also depends on the time. On the battlefield, if we talk about benevolence and righteousness to the enemy, it is actually a bit old-fashioned. The two armies are fighting each other in front of the formation, each for his own benefit. Mainly, even the smallest factors may affect the situation of the war. Under such circumstances, if we are benevolent to the enemy, it will be irresponsible to our army. Even an ordinary citizen understands this. Xue Xianggui is the prime minister, but he doesn't understand this. Could it be that his knowledge is not as good as that of common people? Hehe, a war is ahead, a national crisis is at hand, and all the civil and military officials in the dynasty are shrinking their heads and keeping silent. Why didn't Xue Xianggui speak loudly at that time to fight for the country? , Instead, he knelt down and tried to make peace with the traitor. Now that the prince has won a great victory, Prime Minister Xue did not say he paid homage to the hero and asked for rewards for the meritorious service, but now he came to accuse the prince of killing too many people. Could it be that Prime Minister Xue is sitting in the court? This is the only thing Is it possible to frame a hero and envy the talented?"
Di Renjie's words were so righteous. After hearing this, Xue Yuanchao found it difficult to refute. He could only point at him and said: "Di Renjie, you, you are so slanderous. How can you be jealous of others? You are just standing up and saying a fair word. So many people were betrayed and killed by innocent people, which harmed the peace of heaven and earth. Now their souls are still alive, waiting for us to give them justice..."
"That's enough, Xue Yuanchao, I have tolerated you for a long time. All you think about are those Khitans who were framed and killed. They say that their souls are still alive. But have you ever thought about the people who were innocently killed by the Khitans?" Those soldiers and people of the Tang Dynasty? Where are their grievances? Who will redress their grievances? The Khitan people are human beings, are we, the people of the Tang Dynasty, not human beings? As the people of the Tang Dynasty, they work for us. The Tang Dynasty paid taxes and shouldered corvees. They fought to the death for me, the Tang Dynasty, and stained the battlefield with blood. Shouldn’t we, the Tang Dynasty, support them? These are our own people and soldiers! Now they are being beaten by the Khitan who are inferior to beasts. People were tricked and killed, why didn't you come to defend them? Now that I have tricked and killed those culprits to avenge the soldiers and people who died, but you accuse me like this, what is your intention? Could it be that you have blood flowing through your body? Is it the blood of Khitan?"
Although they are similar words, the impact from Li Xian's mouth and from Di Renjie's mouth is indeed different. After Li Xian said these words, almost all the East Palace party members and neutral ministers all said so. Even many honest officials of the rear party expressed strong dissatisfaction with Xue Yuanchao and applauded Li Xian's speech.
"This, this..." Seeing that he was being targeted by thousands of people, even though Xue Yuancao was in a high position, he couldn't help but feel panicked. (To be continued.) This chapter has been completed!