Chang'an, the capital of the Tang Dynasty, Penglai Palace and Xuanzheng Palace.
Emperor Gaozong looked at Empress Wu, who was sitting side by side with him on the throne, and at the solemn-looking ministers in the palace, and slowly said: "Dear sirs, I have only discussed one thing with you this morning, which is the conquest of Goguryeo.
As you all know, Quan Gaisu Wen died, and the disciples were divided. His second son, Nan Jian, and his third son, Nan Zhan, united to expel the eldest son, Nan. This violated the etiquette and law and was not tolerated by nature. Now, Nan Nan has led his people to surrender to the Tang Dynasty and prays for my help.
His crusade against rebellion demonstrates human ethics. His words are sad and heartfelt. How can I bear it? Therefore, I am determined to condemn the army to go deep into northern Xinjiang to fight against rebellion. I plan to appoint the British company, Sikong Li Ji, as the commander-in-chief of the march to Liaodong Road.
, is in charge of all wars in Liaodong, what do you think of your wishes?"
As soon as Gaozong finished speaking, he heard the officials from the emperor and empress, who had been quarreling with each other before, shouting in unison that the emperor is wise. If they were uninformed, they would think that Gaozong was still in charge of the government.
In fact, the appointment of Li Ji as the general person in charge of the expedition to Goguryeo this time was actually the result of a compromise between Gaozong and Empress Wu, because now the two camps of Gaozong and Empress Wu were facing each other, and they were clearly divided. Only Li Ji strictly maintained neutrality, but was able to obtain
Gaozong and Empress Wu had unanimous trust, qualifications, prestige, and abilities that were sufficient for the job. It was for this reason that after a long quarrel, both emperors and empresses gave in and finally agreed to use Li Ji as the commander-in-chief of the expedition against Goguryeo.
principal.
"Since all of you who love me have no objections, it has been decided that Li Qing will be the general manager of the march to Liaodong Road and be in charge of all wars in Liaodong. In addition, in order to boost the morale of the whole army, I also decided to order the prince to supervise the country and go there in person.
Go to Goguryeo to interrogate Naquan Nanjian and order him to surrender and never dare to rebel." As Gaozong said, he stood up and suddenly made this decision. Seeing the stunned expressions of the ministers, he couldn't help but feel excited and high-spirited.
stand up.
However, he did not expect that his decision was immediately opposed by the ministers. Zhongshu ordered Xu Jingzong to bow first and said: "Your Majesty, this is absolutely impossible. Your Majesty is the monarch of the state and has a body of thousands of gold. How can I do it?"
Can you lower your status and visit a small country in person? What's more, His Majesty's health is not very good to begin with. If he goes to that bitter cold place and his condition worsens, wouldn't it be a great misfortune for our Tang Dynasty? The loyal and straightforward words of humble ministers will inevitably conflict, but also
Please forgive me, Your Majesty."
When Xu Jingzong said this, Wang Dejian, Yuan Gongyu, Hou Shanye and other members of Empress Wu's party also all agreed. Some of them went too far and even smashed their heads against the ground, causing blood to flow from the kowtow.
Xu Jingzong was of course not only concerned about Gaozong's health, but also concerned about whether Gaozong's relatives would take the opportunity to control the military after arriving in Liaodong, so he tried his best to dissuade Gaozong.
An even more surprising thing happened next. Liu Xiangdao and others from the imperial party actually tried to dissuade Gaozong. They were worried about Gaozong's physical condition, and at the same time they were worried that Empress Wu would take the opportunity to deal with them after Gaozong left.
Therefore, I also agreed with Xu Jingzong's opinion and tried my best to dissuade him.
For many years, the officials of the imperial court have never been so unanimous as they are today, and this happened twice in a row! Such a scene definitely made history.
Under the unanimous opposition of the ministers, Gaozong's high-spirited expression was finally dispelled, but he was still unwilling to do so and planned to go his own way. Unexpectedly, Empress Wu also remonstrated in person and listed a lot of
Reasons include, for example, Emperor Gaozong's poor health, for example, the standard of the imperial commander's personal expedition is too high and Goguryeo is not worthy, for example, the emperor's personal visit will easily interfere with military affairs, which is not conducive to the war, etc.
Regardless of whether these reasons are far-fetched, Empress Wu's attitude has been made clear, and all the ministers have an attitude that they will not give up if Gaozong does not agree to cancel the imperial conquest. Gaozong couldn't help but sigh, and his heart began to waver.
, but he was still a little unwilling, so he asked Li Ji, who had been silent all this time: "Li Aiqing, Yi Er said, should I personally conquer Goguryeo?"
But I heard Li Ji slowly step forward, bowed and said, "Wei Chen thinks that what Her Royal Highness the Queen and her colleagues said is true. Your Majesty is worth a thousand gold and it is not suitable to go to Goguryeo. However, Wei Chen also knows what your Majesty means.
With the emperor's personal visit to the northern border to boost the morale of the army, the officers and soldiers of the three armies can attack Goguryeo in one go. Therefore, I think it is better to adopt a compromise method and appoint a prince to go to Goguryeo on his behalf. In this way,
The goal of boosting morale can be achieved, and Your Majesty will not have to suffer from the fatigue of traveling and traveling."
"What you said makes sense, that's what I've decided." Seeing that Li Ji had found the best place for him, Emperor Gaozong naturally agreed, but then he asked: "But which frontman should I send?"
Going to Northern Xinjiang? Does Li Qing have someone to choose?"
Li Ji bowed slightly and said: "King Sujie of Xi has always been smart and is your Majesty's own son. I heard that he recently wrote "On Loyalty and Filial Piety". I think it is commendable to be loyal, so why not send King Xi to Goguryeo on behalf of your Majesty? I don't know what your Majesty's intention is.
how?"
King Li Sujie of Xi was the fourth son of Gaozong, and his mother was Concubine Xiao Shu. He was the most hated by Empress Wu among Gaozong's disciples. Li Ji made this suggestion and was naturally waiting for everyone in the rear party to reject it.
Sure enough, just as Li Ji finished speaking, he heard Yuan Gongyu, a member of the Xitai family, step forward and said: "Your Majesty, I think this matter is unacceptable. I heard that King Xun was not in good health. Not long ago, your Majesty also took care of King Xun so that he would not have to frequent
Enter the palace to see me, so King Xi’s illness must be serious. If this is the case, how can I go on an expedition on behalf of His Majesty?”
"In that case, how about King Qi going to gold?" Li Ji pretended to frown, then brought up Gaozong's other son and asked Gaozong.
So far, Emperor Gaozong has given birth to a total of eight sons. Among them, the eldest son Li Zhong was executed, the second son Li Xiao died of illness, and the third son Li Shangjin was the oldest. However, because he was not born to Empress Wu, he was very disgusted by Empress Wu.
Although this son's physical fitness and ability can take on the important task of replacing Gaozong this time, everyone in the rear party will definitely not agree, because if this person takes control of the military power, wouldn't it be that Empress Wu shot herself in the foot?
What?
Therefore, Li Ji's proposal was naturally opposed by everyone in the rear party, and even Empress Wu personally vetoed it. The reason was very simple: Li Shangjin was not Gaozong's legitimate son and could not achieve the desired effect.
The ministers saw that Gaozong's only two remaining concubine sons had been rejected, so the only ones left were the four legitimate sons born to Empress Wu. Among the four legitimate sons, Li Hong was the prince, so it was naturally impossible to risk this.
There is a risk, and the king of Yu, Li Xulun, is really young, so the candidate can only be chosen between the king of Pei, Li Xian, and the king of Zhou, Li Xian.
In the eyes of most ministers, the one who was sent to Northern Xinjiang to fight on behalf of the emperor this time must be King Pei Li Xian. After all, Li Xian has been known as a virtuous person since he was a child. In addition, he is two years older than Li Xian and is relatively more powerful.
More appropriate.
So this time, without waiting for Li Ji to say anything, a minister recommended Pei Wangxian, and this recommender was Liu Xiangdao, the leader of the imperial party.
This is not because Liu Xiangdao hates Li Xian, but from an objective point of view, he thinks that Li Xian is a bit young and not suitable. At the same time, he also knows that Li Xian and Empress Wu have a bad relationship, so he wants to let Li Xian take the opportunity to control part of the military power.
In order to restrain Empress Wu's ambitions. Moreover, Liu Xiangdao had served as the chief minister of Prince Pei in the past and had a good relationship with Li Xian. He thought that after this incident, he would take the initiative to contact Li Xian and join forces with the prince to check and balance Empress Wu, which might be able to curb Empress Wu's ambitions.
This made Gaozong feel better.
But who was Empress Wu? How could she watch power fall into the hands of Li Xian, who had always been at odds with her? So she signaled Xu Jingzong to take the lead in opposition.
Xu Jingzong was Empress Wu's confidant, so he naturally knew what Empress Wu meant, and he took the lead in objecting: "The humble ministers thought it was impossible. Although King Pei was a virtuous man, his temperament was too strong, so it might not be an obstacle to the campaign. However, this campaign against Goguryeo will not be a problem.
It is necessary to use both suppression and appeasement, with appeasement as the main purpose and suppression as the second use. The king of Zhou has a gentle and easy-going temperament, which is more suitable."
"No." Liu Xiangdao immediately retorted: "Although what Prime Minister Xu said is reasonable, and the King of Zhou is also very virtuous and intelligent, the King of Zhou is still young and does not study much, so he may not be able to shoulder this important task. Although King Pei is strong-willed,
He is well versed in classics and history, and has always been benevolent. As long as your majesty sends an experienced and prudent person to assist him, he will be able to successfully complete your majesty's entrustment."
At this time, Shanye, the Marquis of Xiangxing Temple, sneered and said: "So, Mr. Liu thinks that King Zhou is young and his literary talent is not good? But doesn't Mr. Liu not know that although King Zhou is young, he is seven feet tall?
He is half a head taller than King Pei. Not only is he outstanding in martial arts, but his literary talent is also extraordinary. How can he not go to Northern Xinjiang?"
"Haha, is it just hearsay? I heard that King Zhou only knows how to dance with spears and sticks in recent years. He doesn't like to read and has no knowledge of classics and history. I say that King Zhou's literary talent is extraordinary. I don't know what evidence is there?" Liu Xiangdao has always looked down on you.
Hou Shanye, who gained wealth by flattering others, now saw that the other party was questioning him with such a ridiculous question. He couldn't help but burst into laughter and refuted.
But when Hou Shanye said with disdain on his face, "I thought that as Mr. Liu, as the Chief Minister of Ceremony, he must be aware of many major events in the world. Now it seems that he is really not worthy of his reputation."
"What do you mean by this?" Liu Xiangdao didn't expect that he would be so despised by the other party. He couldn't help but become angry and asked in a deep voice.
I saw Hou Shanye laughing and saying: "Mr. Liu used to be the chief historian of Prince Pei's palace. Now he is trying to find ways to get more credit for his late master. The subordinates also understand. However, Prime Minister Liu cannot slander the King of Zhou at will because of this. Doesn't Prime Minister Liu know?"
, a few years ago, King Zhou composed a poem when he was only seven years old. The composition of this poem is rigorous, the language is natural and smooth but neat, the description of the scene and the lyricism are perfectly blended, and the artistic conception is complete. It is a masterpiece. Only a great talent can write such a poem.
How can you be said to have not studied much by Prime Minister Liu?"
"Oh? I wonder what kind of poem it is? It is praised so highly by you. The truth is, I want to learn from it." Liu Xiangdao has long been used to the face of this flatterer, so naturally he didn't believe it, so he asked with a sneer.
But I saw that Hou Shanye was not worried, and recited slowly: "The poem says, the grass on the original plain dries up and grows every year. The wild fires cannot be burned away, but the spring breeze blows and grows again. The distant fragrance invades the ancient road, and the clear green meets the desolate city. Send it off again.
After the mad birth, I will be full of love."
Liu Xiangdao was stunned when he heard this, and then he laughed and said: "What do you mean? Haha, it's really ridiculous. This poem is a masterpiece that has been popular in the literary world recently. It is said that it was written by a child prodigy. You actually wrote this poem
The first well-known poem was put on the king of Zhou, and I don’t know whether it helped or harmed the king of Zhou."
But I heard Hou Shanye also sneer and say: "I'm afraid Liu Xiang doesn't know something about this song. This poem was originally written by King Zhou to tease a crazy student. However, King Zhou was visiting incognito at that time, which was too troublesome, so he didn't disclose it.
Identity, Sun Jingye, the eldest son of Mr. Li’s residence, was also present when this happened. If Mr. Li doesn’t believe it, just ask Mr. Li.” This chapter has been completed!