A person's life is either for fame or profit.
For some people, they regard money as dirt and power as floating clouds. They can be selfless and tough on the whole world, and they can be willing to die for the ideals in their hearts.
But the only thing that cannot be tarnished in the slightest is your reputation.
As a censor, the head of the noble and direct ministers, responsible for correcting hundreds of officials and maintaining discipline, who doesn't want to leave a good reputation for being fair, honest, and selfless?
Criticism is a supremely good name.
But how to become a critic also requires different methods.
Impeaching powerful people and not being afraid of power are essential elements for criticizing ministers, but if Fang Jun has constant scandals with many princesses, what is the use of impeaching him? It's just one more romantic story. After a moment of hustle and bustle, it will be forgotten by the world. The history of love is not even written and no one cares about it.
Only by stripping off Feng Deyi's coat of hero and completely knocking him into the dust can the world be shocked and the history of history be immortalized.
Of course, this move will indeed damage Emperor Taizong's reputation and make His Majesty unhappy. There will be countless pressures on his face, but so what?
Liu Xiangdao is even willing to let obstacles and pressure come more intensely. After all, who doesn't love the reputation of "Strength Order"?
……
So when Li Chengqian summoned him to the palace and asked him to stop with a vague mention, Liu Xiangdao bowed to the ground and spoke sternly: "Your Majesty appointed Wei Chen as the imperial censor. I am so grateful that I am willing to serve your Majesty as a dog and horse." Lao. However small. The ministers can obey orders, but the censors cannot. If even the officials who represent the justice of a country give up their principles and succumb to power, where is the justice? If things go on like this, the country will not be able to survive!"
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I am a minister and I can listen to you in everything, but the imperial censor cannot obey the emperor's orders. This is a matter of principle.
Li Chengqian didn't expect that this guy would change from his usual docility to be so tough, and said hurriedly: "It's not that I don't care about judicial justice, but the matter of Feng Deyi is actually related to the reputation of Emperor Taizong. If Feng Deyi is convicted, wouldn't it be wrong?" Did you say that Emperor Taizong was foolish and deceived by his treacherous ministers?”
Emperor Taizong has been obsessed with becoming the "Eternal Emperor" all his life. How could his son, Emperor Taizong, allow Emperor Taizong's reputation to be smeared?
Liu Xiangdao asked in reply: "Do you admit that your Majesty admits that the Yi has both sides of the snake and mouse, and his privacy is cunning?"
Li Chengqian hesitated and said: "If the evidence is conclusive, maybe it is true..."
Liu Xiangdao straightened up and looked firmly: "Since the evidence of Feng Deyi's crime is conclusive, was Emperor Taizong deceived by it?"
Li Chengqian was speechless.
In fact, everyone knows in their hearts that Feng Deyi was treacherous and cunning, and deceived both Gaozu and Taizong, so much so that after his death, he was awarded a title and paid tribute to him. This is a fact.
Liu Xiangdao was straight and upright: "Emperor Taizong humbly accepted advice and swallowed mountains and rivers with anger. If he had known at that time that he had wrongly entrusted Deyi, does Your Majesty think Emperor Taizong would have turned a blind eye because his reputation was not tarnished?"
Li Chengqian was still speechless.
However, the fact is that if Emperor Taizong found out about this kind of thing himself, he would be open-minded and aboveboard. But if his son finds out, it may damage the late emperor's reputation and be disloyal and unfilial...
But these words can only be understood, not expressed. Now that Liu Xiangdao doesn't want to understand, what can he do?
Li Chengqian sighed and said helplessly: "Even if Feng Deyi has to be impeached, we must grasp the scale carefully. Neither the investigation should be too deep, nor should it be widely implicated. The current situation of the court has been initially settled, and there are still many unstable things. Censor Even if Taiwan maintains discipline and impeaches hundreds of officials, it must take the overall situation into consideration.”
Liu Xiangdao was secretly happy and said hurriedly: "Your Majesty, don't worry, this time we are only targeting Feng Deyi, and we will definitely not involve anyone else."
He understood what His Majesty meant. It was okay to impeach Feng Deyi, but that was enough. He could not uncover all Feng Deyi's deeds indefinitely, causing him to be deprived of his official titles during his lifetime.
In other words, His Majesty only allows Emperor Taizong's reputation to be "hoodwinked", but he absolutely does not allow Emperor Taizong to be considered "faint." There is a thin line between the two, but they are worlds apart.
Naturally, he agreed happily. The reason why he insisted on impeaching Feng Deyi was because he wanted to establish an image of a critic who was not afraid of power and get rid of the reputation of "the emperor's minion", instead of offending the emperor too much and having no reason to do so. The bottom line is to tarnish the reputation of Emperor Taizong.
Li Chengqian waved his hand and said: "That's it, just go ahead and do it."
"Here."
……
During dinner, when she heard that Li Chengqian mentioned that Liu Xiangdao had been allowed to impeach Feng Deyi, Queen Su suddenly became anxious: "How can your majesty agree to this? Once Yushitai impeaches Feng Deyi, it is very likely to affect the entire Feng family. Wouldn’t the marriage proposal between Si Zi and Feng Simin fall through? Furthermore, this move will definitely damage Emperor Taizong’s reputation, and the government and the public will be talking about it, which will be extremely detrimental to His Majesty.”
She quite hated her husband's soft temper.
The emperor would give in when his ministers were a little tougher. What would happen if things continued like this?
Li Chengqian chewed his rice carefully and said slowly: "On one side is the reputation of Emperor Taizong, on the other side is the maintenance of the court's laws. I always have to weigh the pros and cons and choose one. The virtues of the Yi are both snake and rat, and privacy is cunning. It is a fact, how can I turn a blind eye and deceive myself and others? If this causes Emperor Taizong's reputation to be damaged, I will shoulder the responsibility."
It wasn't that he couldn't forcefully reject Liu Xiangdao, but he didn't want to.
Emperor Taizong's great achievements, wisdom and martial arts are almost the model of emperors throughout the ages. Even if he is not worthy of the reputation of "one emperor through the ages", there are only a few who can compare with him, such as Emperor Qin and Han Wu. This is for a successor king It's too much pressure.
In any matter, everyone will compare him with Emperor Taizong, and naturally they will come to the conclusion that they are inferior...
However, people did not realize that Emperor Taizong was already the best among ancient and modern emperors. It was normal to be inferior to Emperor Taizong. They only said that Li Chengqian was cowardly, dull, incompetent, and not like a wise king.
If Emperor Taizong wasn't so perfect, maybe it wouldn't be a bad thing...
Queen Su's mouth opened slightly, then closed tightly.
She is the smartest, and she has been keenly aware of Li Chengqian's attitude on this matter, as well as the indescribable subtle psychology...
Now that it has risen to the level of a king's honor and disgrace, Sizi's marriage is irrelevant.
It’s just that looking at the husband who is sleeping in the same bed in front of me and has a close heart, I feel a little strange for a moment...
*****
The forest was lush and the rain was continuous. The boat cut through the emerald river surface. The wind and rain knocked on the windows, and a bit of cold air poured into the cabin through the cracks in the windows. Fortunately, it was blocked by the heat of the stove and could not invade the cabin.
The winter in the south of the Yangtze River is not as good as the thousands of miles of ice and cold wind in the north, but it is also lingering and cold, freezing to the bone.
In the cabin, Fang Xuanling and Xiao Yu, both dressed in brocade robes, sat facing each other drinking.
Looking at Fang Yize who was cooking wine on one side, Xiao Yu said with envy: "When it comes to our achievements in the country, we are at loggerheads with each other when it comes to our official status. But if we compare how well we teach our children, , I’m not as good as you.”
After hearing this, Fang Yi looked at his father first, then smiled and said humbly: "I don't dare to be praised by the Duke of Song Dynasty."
Fang Xuanling also said: "I don't dare to belittle myself. The sons in the family are indeed good, but you don't have to be too modest about Shi Wen. The Xiao family has a tiger father and a tiger son, and the family has a long history. The son climbed the ice and snow to guard the northern border for the country. , guarding Hanhai, and the other sons are also well-educated and filial, and none of them is a dandy, which is the envy of the world. "
Xiao Yu smiled bitterly and shook his head. He picked up the wine glass and made a toast. The two of them drank it down in one gulp.
It is easy to conquer the world, but it is difficult to defend it. Their generation went through many hardships and hardships, fought for thousands of years, and fought their way through mountains of corpses and seas of blood to conquer the world. However, future generations will rest on their merits and grow old, and there are many disdainful people. , who made no progress beyond merit, but just indulged in eating, drinking, playing, and enjoying themselves. It was okay to achieve nothing. There are not many people who have completely ruined the achievements of their fathers and ancestors in their lives.
Although the children of the Xiao family have not yet reached the point of "prodigal", they are not much better.
At their age, they have long looked down upon the honor and disgrace of individuals. Once they ruled the world and directed the country, it was just a fleeting moment. Whether they were prime ministers or assistants under one person, or the common people who worked hard in the fields, what awaited them would be life and death. Who is better than whom?
The comparison is to have a successor.
No matter how much you are inferior to ten thousand people, and your achievements are so great that they are famous in China, if your descendants are unworthy, they will never be able to hold their heads up. On the contrary, even if you are poor and have no clothes to cover your body, if your descendants are promising, they will be able to straighten their backs and look down upon them. worldly people.
And if it was "comparing sons", Xiao Yu knew that even if she gave birth to a hundred children, she would not be able to compare to Fang Jun...
As Fang Yize poured wine beside him, Xiao Yu said: "I pride myself on being smart and good at judging the situation, but now I have to admire you for being able to retreat bravely at the height of your glory. You have preserved your career and reputation and left that huge world behind." The whirlpool, it is wise to protect oneself wisely.”
Fang Xuanling shook his head: "I've never looked so far ahead. It was just a mistake. After all, it is inevitable for a father and son to be in the same dynasty."
Xiao Yu: "..."
You were more modest than my son just now, and now you can't wait to show off?
Fang Xuanling also realized that he seemed unkind, so he changed the topic: "We have been fighting for the word "competition" all our lives, fighting for the world, fighting for merit, fighting for official titles, fighting for status... After fighting for our whole life, we have nothing to fight for. After fighting for it, now we are all retired, and while we are enjoying the woods and springs, enjoying our grandchildren, we can also reflect on the rights and wrongs of our past, and at the same time, we can take good care of ourselves and live for a few more years, which is not a bad thing.”
Xiao Yu smiled bitterly and said: "If you make a mistake, you will be hated for eternity!"
Although both of them retreated, their methods of retreat were completely different. This time, I was forced to retreat completely. The consequence of this was that the Lanling Xiao family would not be able to enter the center again for at least several decades. , and if you want to enter the center again, it is extremely difficult.
The Xiao family of Lanling was once the royal family of Nanliang, but now they have to accept the consequences of being marginalized for a long time...
However, after taking a sip of wine, Xiao Yu reminded: "The reason why I meet you this time is to reminisce about the past in the mist and rain in the south of the Yangtze River. After all, if you say goodbye here, you may never see each other again... and also to give you something. Just a reminder, you should always urge Erlang after returning to Chang'an, and don't be complacent. Chang'an City seems to be calm, but in fact there is an undercurrent. There is not only one Li Daozong in the clan." [The boat has passed the Ten Thousand Mountains! 】