"What's going on? Who dares to be so rampant? Why didn't you come and report to me earlier!"
Emperor Gaozong was actually not very fond of Gao Zhizhou. It was not that he had any prejudice against him, but that he felt that his talents and learning were only average. He could just be a royal censor. He was barely qualified. How could he be a prime minister? , but he is far inferior in ability. The reason why he was agreed to be the prime minister in the first place was just to balance the situation of the government. It was purely a last resort. But no matter what, Gao Zhizhou is already the prime minister. Speaking of which, he was also one of the pillars of the court. To be assassinated in this way not only cost Gao Zhizhou his life, but also the face of the court. This shocked Gaozong, who had always had a good face, and felt deep in his heart. Once the anger rises, the words you say are not so pleasant.
"Returning to my father, Caizhou's report arrived in Beijing yesterday. Now it has been spread throughout the government and the public. I have read the memorial and only now know some of its connotations. Perhaps because of the seriousness of the matter, I dare not ignore it. Come and report to Father."
Li Xian was very aware of Gaozong's psychological changes, so he would not show any panic because of his unpleasant words. He bowed slightly and answered gently.
"Well, tell me, what's going on?"
Gaozong was still ill yesterday and could not see anyone, not to mention Li Xian. Even Empress Wu could not see Gaozong. There is no doubt that it is unreasonable to blame Li Xian for concealing the truth. Gaozong Zi also woke up, his face turned slightly red, but he did not explain more, but asked in a slightly slower tone.
"Returning to my father, Caizhou's memorial said that Prime Minister Gao was poisoned to death when he was attending a banquet hosted by Sima Li Chun of the state. It was found that it was a group of bandits led by Zhang Er, a remnant of Qixia Mountain. Caizhou Governor Liu had already led the state army to exterminate the bandits and killed eighteen of the rebels on the spot, including the chef who had poisoned them. Whether this was the case, I dare not say for sure, maybe there was something else hidden. "
Li Xian came here to take a pre-emptive strike, and it was inevitable to file a complaint against him. He would not help the Caizhou people and others to cover up, and he directly stated the contents of the report one by one, and in the end he did not Forgot to leave a tail.
"Why are they from Qixia Mountain again? Didn't I issue an imperial edict and the people from Qixia Mountain are wanted all over the world? Why are these bastard gangsters showing up again? Are they really going to kill them all?"
When Li Xian was assassinated in Hexi, he had already issued a memorial requesting that the Qixia Mountain people and others should be exterminated. Emperor Gaozong was angry at Li Xian's repeated assassinations and had already issued an imperial edict, asking local governments to severely arrest the Qixia Mountain people and others. Now, When I heard that Gao Zhizhou's death was related to Qixia Mountain, some of my sons couldn't help but become furious.
It would be strange if they were really killed. I have never seen a bunch of old and young people from Qixia Mountain change their appearance and live happily in your old palace!
Li Xian hated all the people in Qixia Mountain from the bottom of his heart. He wanted to wipe out all these lawless people immediately. Unfortunately, he thought about it, but he couldn't do it. The reason was simple. The time is not yet ripe, even if the true identity of Qingxu's group is revealed in front of Emperor Gaozong, it will be useless. With Empress Wu's care, these fake Niubi people have already had a new origin, and they cannot be officially recognized at all. Instead of wasting all your efforts to write a big article, it is better to pretend to be ignorant and endure it for now, and then it will not be too late to settle the ledger with this group of thieves. In view of this, now facing a series of questions from Gaozong, Li Xian sensibly remained silent.
"What does Xianer think about this?"
Gaozong became angry, and the irritability in his heart subsided a little. When he saw that Li Xian remained silent on the side, he couldn't help but feel moved, so he asked the question to Li Xian.
"Father, it is clear that this matter has not yet been decided by the court, but it is not suitable for me to discuss it arbitrarily. Everything must be subject to Father's Holy Judgment."
The probing meaning in Gaozong's words was too strong. With Li Xian's mind, how could he not figure it out and be unwilling to comment on this matter?
"Um."
This assassination case was too strange. Coupled with the issue of Gao Zhizhou's position and Li Xian's previous proposal for Gao Zhizhou to patrol Henan, Emperor Gaozong could not help but be suspicious of Li Xian. His previous question was also
It was with the intention of testing Li Xian that if Li Xian really made a lot of suggestions on this matter, Gao Zong would be upset, but now Li Xian did not do so, and Gao Zong's doubts were somewhat relieved.
, did not say anything more about the matter, but stood up anxiously and paced back and forth in the palace. After a long time, he suddenly stopped, glanced at Li Xian and said, "Xian'er thinks there is some secret behind this case."
?”
"Returning to my father, I thought there should be some. In this chapter, Caizhou Governor Liu said that the whole case had been solved and all the thieves had been wiped out, but there was no mention of Zhang Er's reason for plotting to assassinate the prime minister. This is
It’s really difficult to understand.”
Gao Zong was still probing this question. Li Xian knew the basics as soon as he heard it, and he felt very relaxed about it. He then analyzed the case in a leisurely manner and pointed out the biggest mystery.
"Well, I think so too. Where did these people from Qixia Mountain come from, and why do they always have trouble with me, the Tang Dynasty? Huh, I think the Ministry of Punishment needs to be reorganized. They can't even hold back some reckless bandits.
What’s the use of these idiots?”
After all, Gaozong was not the master of England. After several attempts to no avail, he no longer doubted Li Xian. He turned around and became angry about the incompetence of the Ministry of Punishment. His words were extremely serious.
"Father, the Holy Ming."
The Ministry of Punishments has become a place of filth since Wu Chengsi and other martial arts disciples took over. Even if Wu Chengsi was later transferred from the Ministry of Punishments, this situation has not changed. Up to now, the Ministry of Punishments has basically been regarded as a place of filth.
Being controlled by Empress Wu, under such circumstances, Gaozong wanted to question the Ministry of Punishment. Although Li Xian would not add fuel to the fire, he would never go to calm down the officials of the Ministry of Punishment, so he simply praised him.
thing.
"That's all, it's very wise. I, alas... I'm really tired. Does your mother have any explanation for this?"
Gaozong was not a man with big ideas. He could just say angry words, but he really wanted him to rectify the disciples of Wu, but he couldn't do it. After sighing, he asked Empress Wu's opinion uneasily.
"Returning to my father, my mother has no explanation for this. I have only heard some rumors and don't know whether they are true or false. I really dare not speak nonsense."
Li Xian came here just to wait for Gaozong to raise such a topic. When he saw that Gaozong actually acted like this, his spirits immediately lifted, and he responded vaguely and hesitated.
"Rumors? Terrible rumors. Let's make it clear!"
Gao Zhi's death on Monday meant that the court situation would be in chaos again. This was naturally a situation that Emperor Gaozong did not want to see. At this time, when he heard the word "rumor", he became even more angry and became dissatisfied.
Li Xian glanced at him and asked angrily.
"Yes, my son obeys the order." Li Xian bowed down with a look of fear, and said after careful consideration: "My son heard that someone was secretly liaising with the government to push Liu Yizhi to take over Gao Zhizhou's vacancy.
The queen mother has great expectations for him and intends to promote him, but now rumors are spreading and the situation in the court is in chaos."
"Liu Yizhi? Hmm..."
Emperor Gaozong had been away from politics for a long time in recent years and was not very familiar with the middle and low-level officials in the court. However, he was still deeply impressed by Liu Yizhi, the head of the "Beimen Bachelor" at that time, and knew him well.
He is quite talented, but this is not the key. The key is that this person is a backbone of the rear party. If he enters the political hall, the balance of the government will be completely destroyed. Obviously, this is not the result that Emperor Gaozong wants to see. It is just that he should
How could he reject this person without showing any signs of it? However, Gaozong was a little confused, and for a while he pondered and didn't know what decision to make.
"My father is aware that I have worked with this person before and I do know something about him. He is quite talented and has a lot of drive in doing things. He looks like a capable minister. However, the political hall is the backbone of the country and must be mature and prudent."
Only when people are responsible can we ensure that there is no danger. I am a humble minister, so please ask my father for a sage judgment."
Li Xiantai understood Gaozong's desire for stability. When he saw Gaozong's silence, he immediately guessed what his intentions were and gave him some advice.
"Well, what Xian'er said is really the way to run a country. I also think it is like this, but..."
Gaozong also wanted to use neutral old ministers, so he had no objection to Li Xian's proposal. However, when he thought about the old ministers now, he suddenly found that there was no one available. His eyes could not help but freeze, and he was half-finished.
, I can no longer talk about it. This is not surprising. It has been nearly 30 years since Gaozong succeeded to the throne. Most of the good ministers who could have been used earlier have passed away. In addition, he has rarely been in charge of politics in the past ten years. Even the names of many new ministers are unknown.
You can't even remember it, let alone extract talents from it.
"Father, I heard an interesting story. It is said that Liu Rengui, a veteran minister who has become an official, just took a concubine a few days ago. He is really very honest and courageous. When all the officials in the court mentioned this, they were all shocked."
Li Xian was quite considerate of Gaozong's difficulties, and without waiting for Gaozong to ask questions, he vaguely mentioned it in a joking way.
"This is Zhengzhe (Liu Rengui's word). Really old-hearted, he is almost 80 years old, and he still has this idea. That's all. I can't let him continue to cause such trouble, so I just let him go back to work in the court.
good."
Liu Rengui was an old minister, and Gaozong had always favored him. When Empress Wu ordered Liu Rengui to take up an official position in the name of his old age, Gaozong was not very willing. He was just afraid of the onset of internal illness and did not step forward to stop it. At this time, the political affairs hall had
Gao Zong was naturally willing to recruit him back.
"Father, Holy Ming!"
With Gao Zong's words, Li Xian also had room for maneuver, which basically blocked the possibility of Empress Wu pushing Liu Yizhi to compete for the throne. He was not dissatisfied, so he hurriedly praised him.
Endless.
"Well, I'll do it right now..."
Emperor Gaozong was obviously also afraid of long nights and many dreams, so he planned to issue an edict on this while his health was still good at this time, so as to avoid any unpleasant troubles in the future.
"The Queen of Heaven has arrived!"
Although Gaozong's plan was good, it was a pity that it could not be realized. Before he could finish his words, shouts could be heard outside. When Gaozong heard this, his expression immediately brightened...