Chapter 4303 Brotherhood
Li Chengqian would not stay in the Cen Mansion for a long time. It was a great honor for the Cen family to be able to come and cry in person. He was escorted out of the Cen Mansion by the officials.
When the emperor's carriage was driven out of the square gate surrounded by imperial guards, Fang Jun and Li Daozong also said goodbye to the Cen family.
However, before the two of them walked out of the gate, they saw a group of four-wheeled carriages driving into the Buzheng Square. There were guards riding in front and behind to protect them. It was the princes who came to express their condolences.
Fang and Li quickly led their own soldiers to avoid the roadside, dismounted and watched the carriage go to Cen Mansion.
As the motorcade approached, the curtain of the first carriage opened, revealing Li Tai's face that had regained its plumpness after being pampered for nearly a year. He said to Fang Jun on the side of the road: "Wait a moment, I will have something to say after my condolences are over." Talk to you.”
Then he lowered the curtain and the carriage drove towards Cen's mansion.
When the motorcade passed by, Li Daozong looked at Fang Jun and said, "Do I have to wait for you for a while? In case you are suspicious and feel uneasy."
Since Fang Jun deliberately came to express his condolences with him, he was obviously deeply worried that he was not leading troops in the Forbidden Garden when he was guarding Xuanwu Gate.
Fang Jun smiled and said: "Does the prince have a guilty conscience as a thief?"
Li Daozong narrowed his eyes: "Don't talk nonsense. I am a member of the royal family and have a transcendent status. How can I allow you to insult me with such dirty words? If you disturb the clan and ruin the reputation of the clan, Zongzheng Temple will not bypass it." Yours.”
Fang Jun didn't care: "Wei Chen is just talking casually. If you leave this place, you won't admit it even if you are beaten to death."
Li Daozong snorted, and without saying another word, he got on his horse and rode away surrounded by his own soldiers.
Fang Jun waited at the gate of the carriage for half an hour. The chariot of Wei King Li Tai returned first and stopped in front of Fang Jun. The driver on the carriage jumped off the carriage and opened the door. He asked Fang Jun to get on the carriage, then closed the door and returned to the carriage. , raised the riding whip in his hand, and the carriage moved forward slowly.
In the carriage, Li Tai sat behind a table with several snacks on it. He picked up a small wine bottle and poured wine into two wine glasses. He took a glass first, motioned to Fang Jun to drink, and then took a sip.
Fang Jun thought for a while, then picked up the wine glass and took a sip, then picked up a piece of pastry and put it in his mouth to chew.
Li Tai finished a glass of wine, refilled it, and then drank it dry.
Then he let out a long sigh: "Alas..."
The fat white face was full of sadness.
Fang Jun was holding cakes in his mouth. Looking at Li Tai's face, he couldn't help but ask: "Is it because His Highness found out that the princess was having an affair with someone else, and that's why he was so distressed?"
"Get out!" Li Tai glared and cursed, then his anger subsided, he sighed again and asked: "You said... is the Pheasant Slave dead?"
Fang Jun picked up the wine pot and poured wine into the wine glasses in front of the two of them, and said calmly: "I thought it was something big."
Li Tai stared and said, "Isn't the life and death of the pheasant slave a big deal?"
Others don't know Fang Jun, but they have known Fang Jun for many years, and he knows that Fang Jun is powerful. Since he chose Li Chengqian at all costs, and since the rebels arrived at Bailuyuan, just a stone's throw away from Chang'an, he still knew Fang Jun. Sitting firmly on Diaoyutai shows that Fang Jun is confident in annihilating the rebels.
In this way, the danger of pheasant slaves will naturally increase greatly...
Fang Jun drank wine and said slowly: "Whether it's a pheasant slave, your highness, or even your majesty... What big deal does an individual's life and death count in the vast and flowing history? The rise and fall of dynasties, the change of thrones , is nothing more than a change at the top of the power structure. Only when the people live and work in peace and contentment is the real big deal.”
Life lasts only a few decades, and compared with the eternal river of history, it is not even a wave.
There has never been a so-called "heroes create the times." History has its own inertia, which cannot be changed by human power. The real saying should be "the times create heroes." Only by adapting to the times can we achieve long-term prosperity.
Even Fang Jun is included. He worked so hard to support Li Chengqian to ascend to the throne. Is it really just his personal efforts?
Dingtian is a tributary integrated into this mighty historical river, making the water volume more and more surging, and there is a slight chance that this river will engulf the original river bed...
People's livelihood and well-being, cultural inheritance, these are what are truly important.
Li Tai drank quietly.
In order to avoid suspicion, he stayed away from the government and would not even step into the Taiji Palace. Therefore, he knew very little about the affairs in the court, especially the current response to the Pheasant Nu's rebellion against the court. He was afraid that if he knew the details, these details If it is leaked, it will become a reminder for oneself.
Li Chengqian is indeed kind, but the civil servants and generals under him are not all as close to him as Fang Jun. Those guys are ruthless. If he deliberately accuses himself, the prince who poses the greatest threat to the throne, of "unfounded" charges, Killed, it’s really hard to guard against...
Now he understood what Fang Jun meant.
The will of Li Chengqian or the court was not at all whether Pheasant Nu was dead or alive. What really mattered was to use Pheasant Nu's rebellion to pull out all those who were not loyal to the emperor and the empire, and then uproot them.
This move is indeed dangerous, but once it succeeds, the harvest will be too great, and it will be accomplished in one battle, and you can sit back and relax from now on...
After a long while, he asked: "Is it possible to save the pheasant slave's life?"
Fang Jun frowned, put down his wine glass and said, "Why is it so? The King of Jin raises an army to cause chaos, and no matter what the outcome is, he will bring it upon himself, and he must bear the responsibility. As a prince, if you are involved, you will easily be bitten by some people. You must know that whether you can live a long life is still unknown, so it is better not to get involved easily. ”
Although it was Jin King Li Zhi who started the rebellion, the biggest threat to Li Chengqian's throne and throne has always been considered to be His Highness the King of Wei in front of him. Li Chengqian has a kind heart, and Li Tai also decisively expressed to the outside world that he had completely withdrawn from the fight for the throne. With his thoughts, he reluctantly stayed out of the power struggle at the highest level.
Once involved, I'm afraid I will be shattered to pieces...
Li Tai swallowed the wine, wiped his face, and said with a wry smile: "How could I not know the power of it? The struggle for the throne has always been cruel, and father and son turned against each other, and siblings killed each other. But you have to know that when the mother died, The pheasant slave was still babbling. He didn't understand the horror of death. He hugged the queen's body and shouted for her to wake up. Everyone present was heartbroken and burst into tears. , so my father loves Pheasant Nu more and more... Now that my parents are gone, only my brother is alive. He has the power to hold the world, and the wealth of the country. The most important thing is to love each other. Don’t forget... Although Pheasant Slave has done wrong things that are unforgivable, but as an elder brother, how can I just watch Pheasant Slave die?”
From the day he decided not to fight for the heirloom, Li Tai let go of the obsession he had held for many years. Suddenly, his whole person became enlightened. Things he had never cared about before now began to value them, such as the relationship between husband and wife, such as the education of the Tang Dynasty. Career, such as brotherhood...
When Pheasant Nu raised an army, he was the one who suffered the most, because he neither wanted Pheasant Nu to succeed, which would mean Li Chengqian would die, nor wanted Pheasant Nu to fail, which would naturally mean Pheasant Nu was defeated and died.
Living in the middle, he was in a dilemma, which made him suffer. He could only drink and have fun every day to anesthetize himself.
As a result, in just over a month, I gained more than 20 kilograms, and regained the former demeanor of His Majesty the King of Wei...
Fang Jun sighed: "Having said this, if His Highness insists on having his own way, there is nothing I can do for you. At most, if Your Highness is given poisonous wine and Bai Ling in the future, he will beg Your Majesty to spare the lives of the Princess and the Crown Prince. Presumably even His Majesty will To be generous, the princess and the prince will definitely be demoted to common people, but please don’t worry, if you and I get along, I will support your wife and children.”
Li Tai: "..."
Since ancient times, it has been a great blessing to have a friend who can take care of your wife and children. Li Tai believes that what Fang Jun said at this moment is sincere. Even if something happens to him in the future, his wife and children will be protected by Fang Jun.
But for some reason, Fang Jun's words made him sound a little awkward... Maybe he was overthinking it?
He looked at Fang Jun suspiciously. Fang Jun raised his eyebrows and poured wine from a pot.
The two of them drank wine in the carriage without talking. The sound of horse hooves trampling on the stone road outside the carriage could be heard clearly, and the carriage shook slightly, which was very dull.
After a long time, the coachman whispered outside: "Your Highness, Duke Yue, Chengtian Gate has arrived."
Fang Jun said goodbye to Li Tai, opened the door and jumped out, turned around and said, "Your Highness, think twice before you act."
Li Tai waved his hand: "I am not a fool, do you need your nonsense?"
……
Fang Jun watched Li Tai's carriage leave the imperial city in the direction of Yanxi Gate. Then he entered Chengtian Gate under the leadership of the imperial guards and went straight to Wude Hall to meet the emperor.
Li Chengqian took a bath after returning from the Cen Mansion to express his condolences. Now he changed into a set of regular clothes and met Fang Jun in the imperial study.
The monarch and his ministers sat opposite each other. After the servants served the fragrant tea, they were dismissed by Li Chengqian. There was no one else around. Li Chengqian sighed: "Cen Wenwen suddenly died of illness, and the situation in the court will inevitably cause trouble. It would be fine in normal times. At this moment, the pheasant slaves are leading the troops." The tigers stationed in Bailuyuan are watching eagerly, and they can attack Chang'an at any time. There are internal and external difficulties, and there are many branches. "
Fang Jun picked up the tea cup and took a sip. He was not thirsty, but drinking tea when thinking has become a habit, as if this will make his mind move faster...
After pondering for a moment, he looked at Li Chengqian's frowning expression and said softly: "Your Majesty cannot fall into passivity and should take the initiative."
Li Chengqian asked curiously: "How to take the initiative?"
The sudden collapse of a mountain like Cen Wenwen in the civil service system will inevitably trigger a reshuffle within the entire civil service system. If Liu Jie takes this opportunity to recruit Cen Wenwen's former party disciples, his strength will soon expand to a level that cannot be ignored and he will become a real power. The real number one civil servant, completely disrupting the balance of the government.
But this kind of thing cannot be forbidden. Everyone has the desire to seek advantages and avoid disadvantages. Now that Liu Ji is in the limelight, it is normal for officials who have lost their reliance to defect to Liu Ji. They cannot do it when Liu Ji has not made any mistakes. Relegated and demoted?
Fang Jun reminded: "Your Majesty might as well go out of the palace in person to show off to Duke Shen..."
Li Chengqian was stunned at first, then his eyes lit up: "Gao Shilian?"
That is a great man who holds Changsun Wuji in one hand...(End of Chapter)