Chapter 4595 Changing Times
Li Chengqian was angry and helpless at the same time towards the clan members, and his feelings were extremely complicated.
If the descendants of the clan had not supported Emperor Gaozu in launching an army in Jinyang, and then followed Prince Yin and Emperor Taizong in a bloody battle, the Tang Dynasty would not be what it is today. They made outstanding contributions to the empire.
However, when those group of clan members died or aged and gradually withdrew, their descendants quickly became corrupted and degenerated at a jaw-dropping speed. To this day, among the clan members, only a few can stand in court. How many people can command an army?
On the contrary, they are ambitious and have no superiority. When fighting for power and profit, everyone is like a wolf and a tiger, and they are not afraid of death.
In time, if the imperial power of the Tang Empire is on the verge of collapse due to external threats, who of these people who are dancing happily today can stand up to turn the tide and help the building before it collapses?
I'm afraid there won't be any of them, and I can only become the target of slaughter by the enemy, watching helplessly as others steal all the power of the empire bit by bit.
But after all, these are his uncles and brothers, and their general interests are consistent with his. You can't just kill them all just because you are upset, right?
Li Chengqian couldn't take action, nor could he be cruel.
Therefore, he was extremely angry at Li Xiaoxie's blatant "moral kidnapping" and said to Li Junxian: "Go out and tell him that he will be deprived of the dukedom of the country, demoted to the king of Xun County, and imprisoned in the mansion for three years without being allowed to go out. If you let me do it again, If you hear that you are stirring up trouble in secret and refuse to settle down, then you will be punished and punished without mercy. ”
"...here."
Li Junxian agreed, but in his heart he felt that such a punishment was too lenient. No matter what, the title should be handed down to the end. Only by depriving his descendants of officialdom could they serve as a warning to the monkeys...
However, His Majesty was kind and soft-hearted, so he could not say more, so he turned around and quickly walked out of the imperial study, went to Chengtian Gate, and read out His Majesty's decree in public.
Li Xiaoxie, who was kneeling on the bluestone outside Chengtian Gate, his back hurting from the thorns tied behind his back, heard this and couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief. Li Shenfu's method really worked...
He barely squeezed out a few tears, pretending to be regretful and grateful, and said loudly: "I know I have sinned, and I will never dare to do it again! Your Majesty is kind and generous, and you forgive me for being disrespectful. It's really great." God bless the Tang Dynasty!”
After thanking him, he got up and hurriedly returned home by car with the servants at his service. He closed his door and thought about his past, secretly sent a letter to Li Shenfu and contacted him...
The nearby officials and passers-by whispered, saying that His Majesty was indeed a benevolent king through the ages.
But some people feel that this approach is inappropriate. Blind mercy is not a long-term solution. Otherwise, what is the use of having laws? Although it is good to be lenient, you still have to be ruthless when it is time to use the heavy code. Otherwise, it will not achieve the effect of deterring small people and setting an example to others. Who would be afraid of the imperial power?
*****
As soon as Fang Jun returned to his home in Chongrenfang, the news of Li Xiaoxie's "pleading for mercy" in front of the palace came... His face remained calm, he quickly entered the gate and asked the servant who came forward: "Is father in the palace?"
"Writing in the study."
"Yeah."
Before he could wash up and change clothes, Fang Jun went directly to the study and said to the servant in front of the door: "My father and I have important matters to discuss, and no one else is allowed to come near."
"Here."
The servant quickly agreed and stepped forward to open the door. After Fang Jun entered, he closed the door and stood guard at the door to prevent others from approaching.
In the study room, Fang Xuanling was wearing a round-necked uniform and a bun on his head. He was sitting at the desk writing and writing. When he saw Fang Jun entering, he put down his brush, picked up the handkerchief on the side and wiped his hands, and said with a smile: "You I don’t even have a serious job now. Why are you so busy going in and out all day long? People should not only be able to advance bravely and strive for the upper reaches, but also know how to be content with the status quo and do whatever they want. If they cannot reach this state, it is difficult to achieve great things. "
After receiving the gift, Fang Jun sat on the chair beside the desk, picked up the teapot, poured himself a cup of tea, took two sips, and sighed: "It's not that the child's realm is insufficient, it's really that the tree wants to be quiet but the wind doesn't stop..."
Then he told what had just happened.
Fang Xuanling frowned: "You mean that someone wants to use the Helan Chushi incident to deliberately involve you, thereby causing disharmony between Your Majesty and you?"
"That's how I think it is, but there may be some mistake. After all, Helan Chushi was the Jinwu Guard I arranged to enter. They probably didn't expect that someone in the Jinwu Guard would dare to touch Helan Chushi. The incident happened suddenly and they were caught off guard."
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It is basically impossible to resell ordnance in the army without being discovered by the general. Especially for elite troops like the Jinwu Guards, it is as difficult as the sky to hide it. So they didn't want to take away the weapons without anyone noticing, but they wanted to make sure that no one could mess with Helan Chushi.
After the ordnance has been gathered up enough, if the Helan Chushi is thrown out, it will be easy to involve Fang Jun, and you can't even wash it away. How can your majesty look at Fang Jun?
It's just that Cen Changqian's reaction was too fast and her senses were too keen. She intuitively felt that this matter was not a trivial matter, so she sent Helan Chushi to "Baiqisi" neatly and picked out Fang Jun steadily...
Fang Xuanling relaxed his brows, sat down to drink tea, and said helplessly: "I haven't asked about these things for a long time. Now my daily life is reading, writing, and looking for some ancient documents to revise the "Dictionary". If you have anything, you might as well go with me." Mei Niang, let’s discuss it. I’m too lazy to ask about how to do it.”
Fang Jun was speechless.
Since Wu Meiniang's IQ gradually emerged, especially after her successful handling of some matters, she became more and more favored and trusted by Fang Xuanling. Most of the time, Wu Meiniang's opinion would be asked about the Fang family's affairs, and now it has almost become a rule.
After worrying about government affairs for more than ten years, Fang Xuanling probably felt exhausted, tired and bored. Now he is cultivating his mind and character and wants to live a few more years, so he often pushes things to Wu Meiniang's side...
Fang Jun said: "She comes from a womanly family, and her knowledge on such important matters is limited. How can she compare to her father's foresight?"
Fang Xuanling was unmoved and glanced at his son: "Are you afraid that how Helan Chushi entered Jinwu Guard cannot be explained?"
"Ahem..." Fang Jun almost choked on his tea and said hurriedly: "I have requested your Majesty's order and will rush to Hedong in the next two days to rectify the salt affairs."
Fang Xuanling said that she didn't want him to go to Wu Meiniang to discuss it, but she still thought for a moment and nodded: "It's not bad to retreat in order to advance. After all, His Majesty is not the kind of ruthless hero, and there are some things in his behavior. Weakness, not until the end At this critical moment, it is difficult to make up your mind. Once you leave Chang'an, those people will be less afraid and will definitely speed up and act early. What they are most afraid of is that they are hiding in the dark waiting for opportunities to hurt people. As long as they jump out early, they will be killed. "
Although he was a little dissatisfied with Li Chengqian's indecisiveness, he also knew that the status of the clan was very special and it was difficult to cut through the knot with a sharp knife. Otherwise, he would be self-conscious and self-conscious about his foundation. After all, the clan was the most basic guarantee of imperial power. .
Those people feel that the danger has been greatly reduced, so they will naturally jump out impatiently. As long as they seize the evidence, no matter what means are used, most of the clan will definitely side with the emperor, thus minimizing the chaos.
However, Fang Xuanling was well aware of his son's character and methods, and warned: "The salt affairs in Hedong are chaotic and complicated. Although corruption continues and production has dropped sharply, as the saying goes, it does not freeze three feet in a day, and the entanglements of interests are almost indistinguishable." , you just need to take advantage of the situation and increase production, without going to war.”
The benefits of salt and iron have been the greatest benefit in the world since ancient times. Since the fall of the Changsun family, the largest iron factory in the world has belonged to the Fang family. The benefits gained have made people all over the world jealous. I don’t know how many people want to enter this field to get a share of the pie.
In the same way, the Hedong family has controlled Yanchi for hundreds of years, which is deeply rooted. In order to maintain their huge interests in Yanchi, they have integrated themselves with all over the world through marriage, shareholding, etc., and rashly leveraging the original interest framework will inevitably affect even more people. It is far away and involves too much. Instead of being able to rectify the salt affairs, we will be trapped in it and unable to move forward.
However, although Fang Xuanling is a gentle and gentle man who pays attention to the success of things, he also has his fierceness: "If you have to take action, you must use thunderous means. If you don't move, you must completely subdue all parties and kill all threats." We must not leave any chance for them to retaliate.”
Hedong Yanchi has nurtured the Chinese ancestors since the Xia and Shang Dynasties. Today, it has long become one of the largest interest groups in the world. Once the snake is beaten to death and the evil is not eradicated, the backlash it will suffer will be turbulent and endless.
Fang Jun nodded solemnly: "Father, don't worry, I will remember it."
Fang Xuanling waved her hand: "You are now on your own, and you may have neglected some things, so I will give you a few more words. But I believe you can take appropriate measures to solve problems when you face them. I don't have much to teach you. You only have one thing - break it off... Go back, pack it up, and set off as soon as possible."
"Here."
Fang Jun stood up, saluted and said goodbye.
Fang Xuanling picked up the brush and wrote a few words on the manuscript, then put down the brush and sighed.
The changes in the times were beyond his expectation, and they were so fast that he was overwhelmed and caught off guard. For more than a thousand years, the times have been constantly developing, but most of them have changed due to changes in dynasties. Sometimes they become better, sometimes they become worse, but generally they are within the original framework. .
The most earth-shaking event was when the First Emperor "written with the same text and drove with the same track", which ended the fragmentation of the world in one fell swoop. Although the second generation of Qin Dynasty died, it laid the foundation for the unification of China.
Then, now.
The meaning behind each political system has caused the entire world to change at an incredible speed. The mandatory operation of imperial examinations, the rapid development of natural science, the earth-shaking of interest structures, and the massive expansion of overseas trade...
The times have become more and more difficult for him, the former Prime Minister of the Empire, to adapt to. From this, he has derived a kind of fear, fearing that if he falls one step behind, he will not be able to keep up with the times and cannot understand the world.
I don’t even know whether this change is good or bad...(End of Chapter)