In the study room of Taiji Palace, Lin Mingdu, Xiao Qian and other backbone ministers of the prince's line were talking to Zhang Jianzhi. Suddenly, when they saw Li Xian turning around from behind the screen, they all stood up and saluted each other.
See also.
"No, please sit down."
Li Xian barely slept last night. After the morning meeting, he went to Gaozong for a long talk. When he returned to the East Palace, he was inevitably a little tired, but he was still in good spirits. He walked steadily to the copywriting room.
From behind, he lifted the hem of his robe, sat down, pressed his hands, and gave an order in a calm voice.
"Thank you, Your Highness."
Lin Mingdu and others came to the East Palace, not only on behalf of themselves, but also on behalf of a large number of officials from their respective factions behind them. Naturally, it was for the peace talks decided by the court this morning. At this moment, they were inevitably a little anxious, but even if
No matter how anxious they were, no one dared to fail in etiquette. They all thanked each other according to court regulations and then took their seats.
"Your Highness, please forgive me for speaking nonsense. The fact of this peace negotiation is not what Your Highness should do. Regardless of success or failure, it will damage your reputation. I sincerely ask Your Highness to call it a sick one and resign from it!"
Xiao Ming has been working as a censor for most of his life. He has a rather aggressive personality and was the first to lose his composure. As soon as he sat down, he was the first to speak.
"Your Highness, I think what Xiao Zhongcheng said is true, and I am willing to do it on behalf of Your Highness!"
Lin Mingdu, as the Minister of Rites, already had the power and responsibility to negotiate with foreign countries. When he heard Xiao Ming's suggestion, he felt quite satisfied and hurriedly echoed it.
"Your Highness, the general also thought that it would be better to avoid this matter. Please think again, Your Highness!"
Although Xiao Qian was a military general, he had been in power for a long time and had seen a lot of conspiracies and intrigues. He already had a lot of doubts in his heart. His views on the peace negotiation were consistent with those of other officials. At this time, he saw that Xiao Ming and Lin Mingdu had already successively
When he opened his mouth, he was not far behind, so he hurriedly echoed the words.
Over the years, as Li Xian's authority has grown, the number of ministers under his command has increased day by day, and there are many factions, big and small, but there are still only four factions at the core - ministers from Hexi civil servants represented by Lin Mingdu are one faction,
The military generals represented by Xiao Qian are one group, the people of the former prince Li Hong, represented by Xiao Ming, are also their own group, and the other group are the civil servants who were former royal officials represented by King Luo Bin and Di Renjie;
The troops of the four factions are the core of Li Xian's strength. At this time, the leaders of the three factions have made comments, and even Li Xian cannot ignore them.
"My lords, don't worry too much. I have already made arrangements for this matter, so there shouldn't be any big mistakes. My lords, just handle your official duties with peace of mind."
What Lin Mingdu and others could see, how could Li Xian have so many things in his mind? He knew that the intention of the peace negotiation scheme jointly created by Empress Wu and the King of Yue was very vicious, and he knew even more clearly that once the peace negotiation reached a deadlock or broke down, all the consequences would be lost.
I am afraid that Li Xian will have to bear the consequences himself. Damage to his reputation is a trivial matter. The expulsion of the Hexi Army is a serious matter. Li Xian has already prepared for this, but he is not afraid that the sky will collapse. However, it is a matter of great importance.
Once the secrets were leaked, the consequences would be disastrous. Therefore, even though everyone in front of him was a confidant, Li Xian did not want to reveal even the slightest bit of the inside story. He could only smile gently and comfort everyone in general.
"Your Highness, this matter is of great importance and cannot be ignored. If something goes wrong, then..."
Although what Li Xian said showed strong self-confidence, Xiao Ming was still uneasy and impatiently spoke out again.
"It doesn't matter, I know it well." Li Xian obviously didn't want to get into any more entanglements on this matter. Without waiting for Xiao Ming to finish speaking, he already pressed his hand, and the words definitely made the conclusion, and immediately turned his attention to Lin Mingdu asked in a deep voice: "Zizhen (Lin Mingdu's name), has there been any movement in the Dashi envoys these days?"
"Returning to Your Highness, in the past three days, Mua Via Aben and his deputies have not left the Lifan Courtyard during the past three days. On the contrary, his subordinates often go out in groups and travel around the capital to sell goods. There are not a few who do.”
As soon as he heard Li Xian's question, Lin Mingdu knew that Li Xian did not want to waste any more time on whether to take over the peace negotiation, and it was unavoidable to feel uneasy in his heart, but he did not dare to persuade him any more, so he could only respond respectfully.
"Well, I have seen Aben once before. He is very smooth, but lacking in ability. This is such a big event. The Dashi Kingdom will definitely not entrust him with such a big responsibility. Zizhen goes to Haosheng to check it out. See this Who among the envoys is the speaker?"
Since Li Xian didn't want everyone to dwell on the pros and cons of taking over the peace negotiation, he had to make some arrangements for specific matters, even if he had actually received detailed information and knew that there was an important person in the envoy. , but it does not prevent Li Xian from finding something to do for Lin Mingdu.
"Promise, I will obey the order."
Being so disturbed by Li Xian, Lin Mingdu couldn't say anything more, so he could only respectfully agree.
"Also, the Dashi envoys have been here for three days. Since I am entrusted with the peace treaty, it is better not to lose etiquette. I will hold a banquet in the East Palace tomorrow night. It is just to welcome the Dashi envoys. As for the food, , let the Dashi envoys send people to prepare themselves, and Zizhen will take care of this matter together. You are all tired today, so let’s stop discussing it here.”
After Li Xian explained a few words, he immediately issued an order to expel the guests, obviously not intending to give anyone any chance to comment.
"No, I'll take your leave."
Li Xian had already said what he said, so Xiao Ming and others couldn't say any more, so they had no choice but to bow down and leave.
"Your Highness, are you interested?"
After everyone left, Zhang Jianzhi, who had been silent all this time, opened his mouth.
"It's okay, I just feel a little tired."
Li Xian is indeed thoughtful. After fighting with Empress Wu for many years, he is really tired. Since this morning, the thought of "Xuanwumen Incident" has been going up and down in Li Xian's mind, even though he knew it. This move would bring serious hidden dangers, but Li Xian, who was extremely tired, no longer wanted to play with Empress Wu. Of course, Li Xian just thought about this idea by himself, and did not intend to say that he would Come out, even when facing a loyal adviser like Zhang Jianzhi, because the stakes are really too high.
"If Your Highness wants the foundation of the Tang Dynasty to last forever, you should be tired first when it's time to be tired. Everything will be done in the future."
Zhang Jianzhi had followed Li Xian for so many years, so he knew Li Xian very well. Even if Li Xian didn't express his concerns, he could guess what was going on, so he comforted him tactfully.
"What Mr. Zhang said is true, just wait and see."
There is no need for a heavy hammer to play the drum. Li Xian was a shrewd person and naturally understood the meaning of Zhang Jian's words as soon as he heard them. They were just tactfully persuading Li Xian not to raise troops easily to avoid damaging the foundation of the Tang Dynasty.
Leaving behind endless hidden dangers, Li Xian understood this and understood the pros and cons. Although he was still unwilling to accept it, he did not insist on his opinion. He just smiled and left it at that.
"This morning, a confirmation message has been sent from the Zhuangzhang's headquarters. The urgent report will arrive in Beijing in three days. This matter should not be a serious problem."
Zhang Jianzhi understood the pain in Li Xian's heart, but he couldn't persuade him any more, so he could only change the topic.
"Well, that's good. I'm a little tired. Mr. Zhang, please help yourself."
As soon as he heard that the emergency report was coming, Li Xian's heart finally dropped, but he didn't say anything more. He sighed slightly, stood up, walked slowly out of the study, and went straight to the backyard.
Already...
"Master Lin, please tell His Highness the Crown Prince that the foreign minister will definitely attend the appointment on time. He must, must..."
Outside the gate of the Lifan Academy, a big cannibal with a white turban on his head and a body as fat as a pig was respectfully sending Lin Mingdu, the Minister of Etiquette, who came to deliver the invitation, out of the gate. His fat face was full of flattery.
With a smile on his face, this person is none other than Mu'a Via Abben, the envoy of the Dashi envoy. Mu'a Via Aben was originally a tax official in Alexandria and was once ordered to take the "Wang Ji Trading Company"
The cargo ship came to Datang and stayed in Datang for more than two years before returning to Dashi. He spoke Chinese quite fluently. This time, he was ordered by the Caliph to serve as an envoy and came to Datang to discuss the treaty.
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"Well, I will report back to His Highness the Crown Prince, and the ambassador will stay here."
Lin Mingdu was a high official in the imperial court. If Li Xian had not ordered him, he would not have even bothered to go to the Lifan Courtyard. He just left after finishing his work and did not even want to stay for a moment longer. How could he care about Mua? Weiya? Aben
He Sheng thought about it, and after explaining the situation, he immediately got on the carriage and drove towards the East Palace.
"Sir, the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty sent an invitation, saying that he wanted to entertain everyone in my envoy. Look at this..."
As soon as Lin Mingdu left, the flattering smile on Mua Via Aben's face disappeared. With a gloomy face, he quickly turned back to the room and saw that no one was around. He actually faced a man in guard uniform.
The bearded middle-aged man bowed and bowed, and began to ask for instructions with the utmost respect. The servile and genuflecting look was exactly the courtesy that a slave should have towards his master. To put it bluntly, it is not surprising. This middle-aged man is the envoy.
The real talker in the group—Yazid Ibn Abu, the eldest son of the current Caliph!
"Well, let's go and have a look."
Yezid Ibn Abu came to the Tang Dynasty this time not only to experience the power of the Tang Dynasty for himself, but also to meet and observe the famous Tang Prince Li Xian.
What kind of person is the prince? The reason why he came here in disguise is not because he is afraid that the Tang Dynasty will be disadvantageous to him, but because he wants to have fewer restrictions and can see the real Tang Dynasty from the bottom. When he was pretending to be a guard, he had
Knowing about the invitation, and even knowing that this negotiation was actually conducted by the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty, he had the intention to meet with Li Xian first, and there was no reason why he should not be allowed to ask for instructions from Mu'awiya Aben.
"Okay, my subordinates, please go ahead and send some imams to the East Palace to prepare a banquet."
Upon hearing Yezid Ibn Abu's words, Mu'a Wiya Abu did not dare to neglect him and hurriedly gave some advice.
"Well, let's go."
Hearing Mu'a Via Aben mention this matter, Yazid Ibn Abu's face couldn't help but darken, for no other reason than because the prince of the Tang Dynasty could know the diet of the Great Food Country.
Where the taboo lies, he obviously has a deep understanding of Dashi, and his intentions are definitely not small. The reason for Yazid Ibn Abu's warning against the Tang prince is a little deeper, but he did not say what he will do.
He just said calmly and sent Mua Via Aben out, but he himself frowned and fell into deep thought...