Chapter 4236 The Queen helps
Military generals benefit the general public, and civil servants value righteousness. This is the view of civil servants. No matter how dirty and arrogant they are in private, civil servants have told the world and themselves this since ancient times. So they can do whatever they want and forget their own good, but if a military general does that, they will definitely attack him in groups, break his bones and throw away the dust, and then use a carving knife to carve it on the letter, so that it will be infamy for thousands of years. Never be able to stand up again.
The mottled history is vivid, but the truth has long been hidden in the dust of history. "Wang Mang was humble and did not usurp the time." Who can really tell what is true and false, right and wrong?
So at this moment, Fang Jun followed Li Chengqian's wishes and refuted Cen Wenwen, which made Cen Wenwen extremely disdainful and angry.
But he did not stop Fang Jun immediately, but listened calmly.
Fang Jun didn't know that he had been classified as a "sycophant" by Cen Wenwen, the head of the civil service. With a teacup in his hand, he said in a manly voice: "Mr. Yu, Chai Zhewei is the Duke of Qiao. His father Chai Shao followed Emperor Gaozu in the past. Raising an army and establishing meritorious deeds are the examples set by Zhenguan's ministers. His mother, Princess Pingyang Zhao, has made even more outstanding achievements. If he is deprived of his title, or even stripped of his official status, because of this defeat, what will those Zhenguan ministers who have been watching from the sidelines and have never sworn allegiance to His Majesty think about it? The most deserved, but everyone is in danger.”
Cen Wenwen frowned. Although he was not ashamed of Fang Jun as a "sycophant" and knew that he was quibbling, he also admitted that this was indeed a big problem.
At present, because Yuchi Gong drove straight into Chang'an and defeated four armies in a row, his momentum was unparalleled, and the people in Guanzhong changed their minds. At this time, the troops stationed in Guanzhong and the civil and military forces of North Korea and China must be appeased, otherwise the situation will worsen.
Fang Jun took a sip of tea and continued: "Privately, Princess Baling is your Majesty's sister. She is a noble lady. After your Majesty ascended the throne, you generously rewarded all the princesses and won praise from the government and the public. At this moment, Baling was punished severely for Chai Zhewei." The princess' reputation has been damaged, and she may even become estranged from her husband's family and become discordant with her husband. Therefore, I believe that although Chai Zhewei cannot escape his guilt, he should not be punished severely and needs to be carefully considered."
Everyone in the study was silent, no one wanted to take a stand on this issue.
Chai Zhewei's defeat was indeed extremely serious, but as Fang Jun said, compared with the current situation caused by the defeat, it is more important to appease Zhenguan Xunchen. It doesn't matter whether Chai Zhewei lives or dies, but if he can Therefore, it is obviously more important to stabilize the hearts of Zhenguan ministers and make those Zhenguan ministers who had not stood by the East Palace before feel relieved and believe that His Majesty will not settle accounts later.
Cen Wenwen had a gloomy face, lowered his head and took a sip of tea without saying much.
As an emperor, how can he clearly distinguish between family and state affairs? Your Majesty is a kind man who loves brothers and sisters. If his insistence on severely punishing Chai Zhewei leads to disharmony between Princess Baling and her husband, and a harmonious life, I am afraid that he will be blamed in the end.
What is particularly important is that Chai Zhewei is a military commander. As one of the leaders of the civil service, he should not talk too much about this matter, otherwise he will inevitably be suspected by His Majesty because he has never let go of the civil war.
Don't lose big for small things...
……
After the major and minor matters were discussed and decided, everyone dispersed. Li Chengqian stopped Fang Jun and returned to the back hall with him. After a simple wash, without taking a shower or changing clothes, he took Fang Jun to the side hall and met Queen Su and Princess Baling.
Queen Su and Princess Baling stood up together and saluted.
Li Chengqian waved his hand and said with a smile: "My family, why do you have to be so formal?" When he walked to the main seat and sat down, a palace maid offered him tea.
Fang Jun salutes and greets the two daughters, and the two women return the favor.
Everyone sat down, Princess Baling looked at Li Chengqian eagerly, and said directly without beating around the bush: "Dong Qiao is defeated in this battle, and he cannot escape the blame. I just don't know how the court plans to deal with it?"
Li Chengqian's face darkened and he said calmly: "Chai Zhewei lost his troops and suffered a huge defeat, which caused the rebels to march straight in, causing the situation in Guanzhong to become very bad. When we were discussing things in the front hall just now, there were people shouting and killing, although there is no conclusion yet. , but basically all agree to severe punishment.”
Although I must have made up my mind to let Chai Zhewei go, selling favors cannot be straightforward. Instead, we must first put enough pressure on him to scare him, and then only when the net is open can he receive the goods with joy and gratitude.
He had to ask Princess Baling to bring the court's attitude back to Chai Zhewei, and from then on she would be fearful and virtuous...
Princess Baling's pretty face turned pale, and she stood up hurriedly and said: "Your Majesty, Duke Qiao has realized his mistake after this defeat and regretted it after returning home. But now the Chai family is in a difficult situation. It is not tolerated by the Guanlong clan, but also suffered Zhenguan Xunchen is being squeezed out and is having a hard time. My sister is marrying into the Chai family, so I feel the same way. I would also like to ask Your Majesty to forgive my sister for a moment, and I would be very grateful."
As he spoke, tears rolled down his face, his face was filled with sadness, he gathered up his skirt and knelt down.
Li Chengqian hurriedly said: "Sister, you can't do it!"
Queen Su on the side hurriedly reached out and grabbed Princess Baling's arm, and said angrily: "You are the one, His Majesty is your biological brother. If you have anything to say, it's easy to talk to him. If he can forgive you, he will forgive you, but he will forgive you." If you have to punish me because of the court's regulations, wouldn't you be doing something unjust to His Majesty? "
"Ah!" Princess Baling was a little panicked and realized something was wrong. Wasn't this forcing His Majesty to forgive Chai Zhewei?
He quickly stood up with the help of Queen Su's hand.
What kind of crime is it to use a human subject to persecute Your Majesty? If His Majesty thinks that I am arrogant again, it will be even more incredible...
Li Chengqian said warmly: "Don't worry, we are brothers and sisters, why do we need to worry about so many rules? Besides, I haven't finished what I just said. Although the ministers all advocated severe punishment for Chai Zhewei, fortunately Erlang spoke up and said that Chai Zhewei's defeat will certainly not escape punishment. , but after all, you have my sister’s kindness, so it’s not good That's too harsh. Go back and tell Chai Zhewei to leave the city immediately and return to the Zuotunwei barracks to reorganize the remaining soldiers and reorganize the troops. When the next time the army is used, I will allow him to make meritorious deeds. If he is defeated as badly as he is now, both of us will be in trouble. Crime and punishment, I can’t blame me for not caring about my family.”
When Princess Baling suddenly heard this, she felt relieved. She looked at Li Chengqian gratefully, feeling happy and ashamed. She sobbed and said: "Your Majesty has shown great care for our sisters. We should have fought to the death for Your Majesty." Instead of helping His Majesty, we are now embarrassing Him. This is a crime worthy of death. ”
Queen Su stretched out her jade hand and patted her shoulder, and laughed softly: "Your Majesty, when you are with your sister, how can you not take more care of you? This is also what you should do. Your Highness does not have to do this. On the contrary, the Duke of Yue can be in the court. Speak up and maintain your highness's favor, so that you will not be embarrassed in the Chai family, but you will have a good relationship with your highness."
As she spoke, her phoenix eyes were slightly horizontal, and she glanced at Fang Jun beside her, with a smile on her pretty face.
Fang Jun: "..."
Queen, how good are you at singing?
Could it be that he thought Wei Chen was a "good princess", so he asked Princess Baling to remember her as a favor and express gratitude for her help, so that it would be easier for Wei Chen to attack Princess Baling in the future?
You really love me so much...
He hurriedly said: "I am ashamed of what the queen said! Because your majesty loves the princess so much and can't bear her to be in trouble, so he hinted to me to explain it to the princess. The ministers also understood your majesty's benevolence." , so I didn’t hold on to him, and I would never dare to take credit.”
"Hey!"
Li Chengqian waved his hand and said with a smile: "It's not necessary for Erlang to be like this. If you hadn't distinguished right from wrong on the spot today, those ministers probably wouldn't have given me this face, and they would have severely punished Chai Zhewei. We are all one family, and you don't have to. Don't take the credit, Baling should remember this favor. Even though people outside say that this guy is a stick, today for your sake, he didn't even give Cen Wenwen face."
Fang Jun was speechless, thinking, why are you causing trouble?
Princess Baling regained her composure. She looked at Fang Jun with a pair of beautiful eyes gleaming in the water. She lowered her head slightly and saluted Wanfu. Her voice was delicate and gentle: "I will never forget the kindness of the Duke of Yue. Please forgive me." I will repay you later.”
She had heard about Fang Jun's "romantic affair" with several princesses for a long time. Now she saw that Fang Jun not only didn't care about his previous troubles with the Chai brothers, but even wanted to help her speak up even if he offended Cen Wenwen. You're not making up your own mind, are you?
Then I found that the shame that I should have had was completely gone. On the contrary, besides being shy, there was a bit of hidden joy... It wasn't that I really wanted Hongxing to cheat, but as a woman, After all, he has a certain sense of vanity. How can he not be a little narcissistic when there is such a powerful hero of the world who cares about his own body?
(End of chapter)