Human thinking is always greedy and never rational.
When she found out that her husband had been forgiven by His Majesty and the whole family was free from worries, and that he had received the title of Duke of the Kingdom for nothing, Princess Baling's thoughts shifted from life and death to the purpose of Fang Jun's move. Since Fang Jun helped her husband wash his clothes Being freed from guilt and receiving a title from the emperor, does it mean that Fang Jun does not intend to "occupy" himself for a long time?
In this way, last night, I sent him to my door without any shame. Although I got a night of happiness, in fact, I didn't make the other party "know the taste" or "think about it day and night"?
This should be something to be thankful for, but why is there a bit of frustration and anger in my heart?
What's going on with your self-esteem...
Wang watched Princess Baling's expression change and whispered: "Although the Duke of Yue was a dandy in the past, he was not a heartless person. Both the head wives and concubines in the house treated each other with courtesy and love, and Wu Meiniang served him as a concubine. Who is in charge of such a large property of the Fang family? I have never heard of such a thing. Although the Duke of Yue last night? He refused in words, but turned around and remonstrated with the emperor. Otherwise, how could our family escape the crime of treason? I think it seems that the Duke of Yue does not want to show favors to you, so as not to make you feel indebted... despite the way he treats you. A little dirty, but he is sincere and may not be ruthless to you.”
As a sister-in-law, she should never say such words. Wouldn't it be pushing her younger siblings into the arms of another man? Once this kind of thing spreads, not only will Princess Baling be known as a licentious woman, but her sister-in-law will also be criticized by thousands of people...
But what can she do?
Now that my husband has been deprived of his title and exiled to northern Xinjiang, the family fortune accumulated by Chai's family over the past few years is extremely rich. Without a strong supporter, he is afraid that someone will have his bones and marrow stripped away. But can Chai Lingwu be relied on? Wang thinks it is unreliable, and those dandy sons are useless. As a descendant of the Chai family and His Majesty's consort, he has such a strong foundation, but he can't even get into the three provinces and six ministries. How can he protect the eldest son?
The only thing I can rely on is the princess in front of me.
And a mere princess doesn't have much say. If Princess Baling and Fang Jun can maintain a stable relationship, this is a good way for Chai's family to have peace of mind and not be coveted by others...
Princess Baling was now in a state of confusion and was completely unaware of Wang's deeper intentions. She could only purse her lips and nod slightly, feeling so confused that she couldn't say a word.
*****
The long wind swept across, withered grass flying, and the dark clouds in the sky were like plummets weighing on people's hearts, creating a breathless depression.
The first snow in the eighteenth year of Zhenguan may not be far away...
The Ba River flows gurglingly, and the dry branches of the willow trees on both sides are swaying in the strong wind. From time to time, a few ships slowly pass by on the river. There is an endless stream of merchants on the bridge, and there is a constant flow of carriages and horses.
There is a long pavilion under the embankment on one side of the bridge. The servants surrounded the pavilion layer by layer with gauze curtains to block the cold wind. There was a small stove burning in the pavilion. The kettle on the stove was "beep" and steaming. Liu He picked up the teapot and poured the boiling water into a ceramic decanter, then placed a delicate and small silver wine pot on it. Soon, a faint aroma of wine filled the relatively closed space in the pavilion. .
Holding a pot and pouring wine, Liu Ji pushed one of the cups in front of Xiao Yu who was opposite him. He held the cup in both hands and said, "We have traveled thousands of miles to the south of the Yangtze River. With this thin glass of wine, I wish the Duke of Song a smooth sailing and long life!"
Xiao Yu also raised his glass, the two glasses touched each other, and each drank it down.
Putting down the wine glass, Xiao Yu stroked his beard, as if he had something to say, but when the words came to his lips, they turned into a long sigh and shook his head in silence.
Thinking about Xiao Yu, he came from a famous family. When he was young, he was the prince of Nanliang. His literary talent was studded with gold and jade. How high-spirited he was? Unexpectedly, the country was ruined and the family was destroyed, so he had to move north to Guanzhong, where he groveled and lingered in the former Sui palace, abandoning his dignity to the ground and living with the eunuchs. However, even in the darkest years, he never lost his ambition and worked hard to find a way forward. Finally, he supported Tang Guogong Li Yuan when he raised his army, and helped him found the country and proclaim himself emperor, thus embarking on the path of becoming a powerful official in the Tang Dynasty. .
Since the founding of the Tang Dynasty, Xiao Yu has been one of the most important ministers in the court. He has won the trust of Li Yuan. Entrusted with important matters.
However, time flies by, and now that my body is old and old, I have to be relegated and returned to my hometown in such a humiliating way, and my life's achievements have been wasted. Even before leaving, only Liu Ji, who had ulterior motives, came to see him off. In the past, none of my subordinates and colleagues were seen...
There are thousands of words in my chest, but my throat is choked, but I can't speak.
Liu Jie could also feel the unwillingness, sorrow, and desolation in the other party's heart. After a pause, he poured wine for Xiao Yu again and said: "Now that you have returned home to take care of yourself, the only one in the court who can resist the army is me. I have more ambition but not enough strength. If I have to resign and retire in the future. , I am afraid that the whole court will become Fang Jun's arrogance. If you use force to rule the country, you will inevitably resort to military violence. When the treasury is empty and the food is exhausted, I am afraid that the people will be in dire straits and the country will be in danger... In the future, I will be under Jiuquan. How can I have the face to see Emperor Taizong? ?Alas!”
He raised his head and drank a glass of wine.
He was hiding his thoughts in these words. He did not blindly mention the dangers of Fang Jun's "power in his hands and all the power in the government", because now that Xiao Yu has been forced to retire, he may not care who has the final say in the court. .
But when it comes to the civil-military dispute, Xiao Yu cannot sit idly by and ignore it.
After all, Xiao Yu was once the head of the civil service and the leader of the clergy. Nowadays, almost all the civil servants in the court have served under him and received his promotion and favor. As long as he does not die, they will enjoy what they have lost. of kindness.
But if the military is in power and all civilian officials are suppressed, who can take care of his old boss who is far away in the south of the Yangtze River?
Although Xiao Yu has withdrawn, Liu Jie still holds the favor of so many years in his hands, which is what Liu Jie values the most.
After all, when it comes to qualifications, he is far inferior to Xiao Yu. If Xiao Yu can hand over all the connections and favors he has mastered over the years to him before leaving, he will be able to gain the full support of the civil service group and have the strength to fight the military to the end. .
However, to his disappointment, Xiao Yu may have been disheartened and did not care about the affairs of the court. He shook his head slightly and changed the subject: "Throughout the ages, wise kings have emerged in large numbers, but when it comes to the word 'benevolence', there is no such thing as Your Majesty today.”
Liu Ji frowned and agreed: "It is true, rebellion is the first of the ten evils, and it is an unforgivable crime. However, Your Majesty is able to open his eyes, and his benevolent heart will shine through the ages. The title of 'Benevolence' is well deserved." ”
Even the most picky person cannot deny the generosity and broad-mindedness that Li Chengqian showed after two consecutive mutinies. Except for those who died in the mutinies, no one was sentenced to execution.
However, in Liu Ji's view, this was a sign of a "benevolent king", but not the behavior of a "wise king".
The most basic principle of being a king is "clear rewards and punishments." Those who have meritorious services will be rewarded, and those who have made mistakes will be punished. If even those who commit the serious crime of "rebellion" cannot be sentenced to death, how can we deter others and set a warning for others?
Another meaning of "benevolence" may not be "weakness"...
Xiao Yu drank a glass of wine, feeling the warmth of the wine going down his throat and into his belly. He exhaled a breath of wine and said, "I know that you don't care about His Majesty's benevolence. In fact, many people think that His Majesty So 'benevolence' is covering up his 'softness'... But speaking from the bottom of my heart, who wouldn't want a "softer" monarch? No one can make mistakes without being a sage. Instead of being severely punished for making a few mistakes, how can a monarch be lenient and forgive and let things go? ”
Punishment is not as good as that of an official, and courtesy is not as good as that of a common man. This is an ancient Confucian saying.
The violation of the law is determined by the eight opinions, not the severity of the crime...
However, since the Western Han Dynasty deposed hundreds of schools of thought and only respected Confucianism, how many dynasties have followed this etiquette and not violated it?
Not to mention, in the early Sui Dynasty, Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty was arrogant, tyrannical and harsh. He often executed capital punishment on court ministers and literati. His life and death were unpredictable, and his politeness was swept away. Why did he care about etiquette?
All the officials in the court were trembling with fear and their lives were in danger. At that time, who didn’t want a benevolent king to be in power?
What happened to being softer?
The softer, the better...
However, now that I have met a benevolent king, I despise him for being too weak, unable to kill decisively, and lacking the image of a wise king...
Being greedy is the ultimate extreme.
Liu Jie was silent.
In fact, how could he not know that it was a great blessing to meet such an emperor who did not kill people? But it was precisely because Li Chengqian was weak-tempered and obeyed Fang Jun's words without any decisiveness that sooner or later Fang Jun controlled the government and the military suppressed civilian officials. How could he, the prime minister, go further and fulfill his lifelong ambitions?
The two drank in silence, and the atmosphere was slightly silent.
After finishing the pot of wine, Xiao Yu put down the glass.
Realizing that it was getting late, Liu Ji asked: "What does Song Guogong think of the imperial court's upcoming survey of the world's acres?"
This was his trump card. He didn't believe that Xiao Yu couldn't feel the huge threat of measuring land to the family. Although he didn't know what His Majesty's intention was, since it involved the vast amount of land that the family relied on for survival, how could he be negligent?
As the most powerful family leader in the world, can Xiao Yu really turn a blind eye?
Xiao Yu shook his head and said calmly: "Whether your Majesty is overjoyed with your achievements or has other agendas, since we are the king's ministers, we should be loyal to the king's affairs. We must not dare to violate the law. We can just let nature take its course."
Nowadays, the government and the public have a lot of speculations about measuring the land in the world. Some say that His Majesty is very happy about his achievement and wants to draw an extremely accurate map of the empire, which will be passed down to future generations and be famous throughout the ages. Some say that the imperial court wants to take back the land and make it national. To re-own the previous land, you need to invest in the purchase and registration...
But Xiao Yu knows that His Majesty and Fang Jun must be sharpening their knives now, waiting for someone to jump out and stop the measurement of the land. Even if Xiao Yu is worried that his land will be plotted by the imperial court, he will never take the lead. bird.
No matter who wants him to stand up against the imperial court, it is absolutely impossible. Your Majesty doesn't like killing people, Fang Jun doesn't care about killing a few more...