Chapter 3783 Mutual Criticism
In the study, Li Chengqian changed into a set of robes with auspicious clouds and python patterns, and wore a golden crown. He accepted the etiquette of the officials, nodded and said: "My dear friends, please take a seat."
"Thank you, Your Highness."
The officials were seated according to their titles and grades, but Liu Ji remained motionless, still maintaining a posture with his arms touching the ground...
Li Chengqian sighed. The quarrel between Liu Jie and Fang Jun was relayed by the chamberlain. Just as he was about to say a few words of comfort, Li Daozong, Ma Zhou and others also came to the door.
When everyone was seated, Li Chengqian looked at Liu Ji, who was standing still, and said: "Liu Shizhong is busy with peace talks today. His hard work has made great achievements. If you come, I will give you a seat."
The meaning is very clear: don’t make trouble.
A servant came forward and brought a brocade pier, but Liu Jie still stood.
"I thank Your Highness... However, the peace talks are related to the survival of the East Palace. I should do my best to live up to Your Highness's trust. Even if I die a hundred times without regrets, how can I dare to take credit? On the contrary, some people rely on military merits and are unruly. He has repeatedly ignored major peace talks and pushed the East Palace into dire straits... The current situation is difficult, and our ministers The son should focus on the country and the country and assist His Highness in maintaining the legitimacy of the empire, rather than show off a moment of bloody bravery, seek temporary military glory, and achieve personal merits at the expense of the safety of the Eastern Palace and the inheritance of the legacy. It is a crime to start a war without authorization and to set an example for others.”
The study was quiet, with only Liu Ji's impassioned voice echoing. Coupled with the righteousness on his face, it was as if an immortal loyal minister was reprimanding the traitor in front of the king...
Everyone was silent and quietly watched the confrontation between Liu Jie and Fang Jun.
It is also a game between the subordinate officials of the East Palace and the generals...
From ancient times to the present, civil and military affairs have taken different paths, and the interests represented by the two sides are difficult to reconcile. Every time they fight, water and fire are incompatible. It is an eternal truth that military generals conquer the world and civilian officials rule the world. However, because of their different interests, civilian officials do not allow military generals to transcend the rule of law, so they want to seize them under control; and military generals in order to pursue their own interests How can you be willing to bend your knees to civil servants and become a vassal if you have no interests?
The battle between civil and military officials is not only a battle between themselves, but also the king's implementation of national policies. It is the civil officials who rule the world and order the army, or the military generals who are independent and form their own system, which demonstrates the king's will to the greatest extent.
When the king believes that the army is powerful and poses a threat to the imperial power, he will inevitably favor civility and suppress military force. On the contrary, if the world is not peaceful and the king has a universal mind, he will naturally allow the army and civilian officials to check and balance and maintain his unruly style.
So now it seems like there is a dispute between Liu Jie and Fang Jun, but everyone is looking at the prince Li Chengqian.
Li Chengqian pondered for a while and then said slowly: "The Duke of Yue's sudden attack on the Rain Master Altar and the burning of the rebels' food was done with Gu's permission, so he acted in secret..."
There was an uproar in the study.
Why are civilian officials so dissatisfied with the military? Precisely because they were so busy negotiating with Guan Long in the dark, the military tried to give Guan Long a hard blow behind his back, often ruining the good situation of the peace talks. This involves the interests of both parties, so naturally no one is willing to give in.
Now that they have seized on Fang Jun's silent and unauthorized attack on Guanlong's food supply, and are about to concentrate their firepower to suppress the military's arrogance, who would have expected that the prince actually stood up to endorse Fang Er in person...
As for whether the prince's words were true or false, and whether Fang Jun had any prior knowledge or not, these are irrelevant. The most important thing is the prince's stance - giving support to the military.
How can this not make civil servants shocked or even angry?
Fang Junze glanced at Li Chengqian and sighed inwardly. The reason why he was so rude to Liu Jie just now was that he wanted to put this matter on the civil-military dispute and treat it as an ordinary political struggle. However, as soon as the prince said these words, people with a keen mind will definitely understand it. Unusual meaning...
Of course, the reason why the prince stood up to endorse him was because he did not want him to be too antagonizing the civil servants, thereby incurring criticism from all the civil servants in the East Palace. As a prince, he has the important responsibility of supervising the country. The situation is so critical now, but he can still support him. This kind of kindness is deep enough.
……
Li Chengqian pressed his palms, and the surprised voices in the study disappeared, and he continued: "The Duke of Yue has informed Yu Gu of this matter in advance, but he felt that it was of great importance and was wary of news about him, so he kept silent. 'If the king is not secretive, he will lose his country; if the minister is not secretive, he will lose his country. "If anything is not kept secret, it will cause harm, so a gentleman keeps his secrets and does not let them out." This is what the "Book of Changes" says, and Gu Shen believes that it is not true that he does not trust Liu Shizhong and all the beloved officials. It’s better to be cautious, and it looks like it’s paying off.”
Liu Ji felt that his heart was very heavy. The prince's words did make some sense. Moreover, this passage was a famous saying in the "Book of Changes". Who dares to say that it was unreasonable?
However, isn't the king's trust in his ministers reflected in whether such confidential matters can be disclosed? If there is complete trust, there will naturally be no such thing as "the minister will lose his identity if he does not keep it secret"...
Taking a deep breath, Liu Jie did not continue to argue about this matter, and decisively avoided it: "Duke Ying is currently in the room where Wei Chen is on duty, and intends to speed up the process of peace talks. I have come to ask for your instructions, is the charter still the same?"< br>
As soon as he finished speaking, Fang Jun frowned and said, "Is Liu Shizhong always confused? One moment and another, now I lead my soldiers to severely inflict heavy losses on the rebels, killing countless people, almost completely defeating their main force, and burning them with more than 100,000 stones. Grain and fodder are waiting to be drained from the cauldron, making it unsustainable. We should take the opportunity to improve the conditions for peace talks, otherwise How unfair is it that the achievements that our soldiers have gained through life and death are ignored by you and handed over to others? Let alone the benefits of the East Palace as a step forward for you. If Liu Shizhong is not qualified, you might as well replace it with someone else! Peace talks are better than soldiers fighting for their lives but being sold out!”
This "map cannon" was so powerful and wide-ranging that all civil servants started making noises.
Others dared to be angry and dare not speak out due to Fang Jun's power, but Xiao Yu didn't care about this and yelled: "How could Duke Yue confuse right and wrong and spit blood like this? Everyone knows that peace talks are the best way to end the current chaos. However, only the Duke of Yue did not understand. Not only did he repeatedly send troops to sabotage the peace talks, but now he is also categorically slandering the officials who worked hard for the peace talks. What is their purpose? "
Fang Jun asked curiously: "When Shizhong Liu was slandering me just now, why didn't I see you, the Duke of Song Dynasty, speaking out for justice? You civil servants gathered together to criticize me?"
This is heartbreaking. It is true that civil servants and military officers have different paths, but when civilian officials govern the country, they naturally have much greater power than the military. Once the civilian officials unite to fight against dissidents and exclude dissidents, it will be the beginning of disaster for the country, and they may even empty the king and control the government.
Xiao Yu was so angry that he blew his beard and glared, and said angrily: "If you want to impose a crime, why bother!"
When Fang Jun was about to retort, Li Chengqian rubbed his temples, knocked on the writing desk in front of him, and said, "What are the benefits of such useless criticism?"
After scolding everyone, he said to Liu Jie: "What Duke Yue said makes sense. Today's situation has been reversed. How can we continue the previous strategy? Don't be impatient. It is the rebels who are anxious now. Slowly follow Yuwen. When discussing, first find out their bottom line before making any calculations.”
Liu Jie had no choice but to respond: "Your Highness is wise, I will do as you are told."
From a civilian standpoint, peace talks must be promoted as soon as possible at any cost. In this way, the civilian officials will take the lion's share of the credit for eliminating the mutiny and stabilizing the situation, and will not be suppressed by the military, which performed brilliantly during the mutiny. .
No matter how high the price is, there are still excuses such as "forced by the situation", and no one can blame them.
But now the situation has reversed, and the East Palace has the advantage. If they want to promote peace talks as soon as possible, they must cooperate with Guan Long. If Guan Long makes up his mind that the peace talks will not be successful, then the peace talks will become a chore.
But he can't complain yet. Fang Jun has made it clear just now. If he, Liu Ji, feels that this matter is embarrassing, he can put down his burden. There is someone who can take it up...
If the peace talks were really snatched away by the military, then Liu Jie would become the sinner of the East Palace civil servants, and he would have no choice but to commit suicide.
Li Chengqian said to Li Daozong: "I would trouble the Prince of Jiangxia to go to Tongguan and meet with the British Duke to see what he thinks of the current situation."
From the beginning to the end, Li Ji was a sharp sword above the heads of the East Palace and Guan Long, and the threat was too great. At this moment, the East Palace has reversed the situation, but Li Jizhi's tendency is still enough to influence the battle situation, so it is necessary to find out the truth and truth in order to respond accurately.
What's more, he had a vague suspicion in his heart, and he needed Li Ji's reaction to confirm it... (End of Chapter)